Marketing Practices and Information Quality for Over-the-counter (OTC) Hearing Aids on Amazon.com.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids have become increasingly accessible, yet limited information exists regarding their online listings and marketing practices. This study evaluated cost, satisfaction ratings, review, volume, readability of product descriptions, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance status of OTC hearing aid listings on Amazon.com.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional, descriptive study analyzed 138 Amazon OTC hearing aid listings. Listing characteristics were extracted, and FDA clearance or registration was verified. Analyses included descriptive data on listing characteristics and nonparametric analysis of key variables: price, FDA-clearance status, device type, and form factor. Readability indices were used to assess the acce

SUBMITTER: Conway K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12947307 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature