Ontario is moving toward allowing adults with mild to moderate hearing loss to obtain over-the-counter hearing aids, but the necessary legal changes are not yet complete.

The Ministry of Health’s October 20 release says hearing aids currently require a prescription from a regulated health professional. Its proposal concerns Health Canada-approved devices, including hearing-support features built into some earbuds and in-ear headphones.

Access would follow changes to the rules

Manufacturers could activate those features after the legislative and regulatory work is finished, the ministry says. The announcement does not establish that every earbud is a hearing aid or that Ontario’s prescription requirement has already ended.

The government says existing prescribed care and coverage would continue. Its release specifically excludes non-prescribed over-the-counter devices from the Assistive Devices Program.

Ontario held a 30-day consultation in April. The province says further information on its broader plans will accompany the fall economic statement, due on or before November 15.

Sources: Ontario’s full October 20 release, retrieved through its official newsroom API; The Canadian Press report at CityNews.

Editorial illustration of hearing devices and pending policy changes; not a product endorsement or an actual device photograph.