A new hearing aid lets users enjoy the full range of normal hearing frequencies, activated by a contact lens on the eardrum. The hearing aid from Earlens Corp. also provides audio gain without feedback. In October, the company completed an $87m round of financing, which will help launch its next-generation hearing aid, which employs magnetic induction for further hearing refinement.

Most stakeholders speaking and participating in panels during the Federal Trade Commission’s April 18 workshop on hearing aids expressed support for over-the-counter sales of the devices, though several expressed reservations about how to best protect patients.

The US Federal Trade Commission plans to discuss hearing-aid marketing rules at an April 18 workshop. The workshop joins other recent government efforts, including a Senate bill and a US FDA draft guidance document, to grapple with a 2015 report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology that found cost and regulations blocked many patients with hearing loss from getting help.

Physicians and manufacturers alike expressed serious concerns with a proposal from White House advisors to make some hearing aids available over-the-counter and exempt from the Quality System Regulation at a recent FDA workshop. They argue the plan could endanger consumers without significantly lowering device costs.