BILL NUMBER: AJR 34	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Carter

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2010

   Relative to hearing aids.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 34, as introduced, Carter. Hearing aids.
   This measure would respectfully urge the federal Food and Drug
Administration to create a new over-the-counter hearing aid
classification, as specified.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, Senior citizens and low-income persons have the least
amount of money available to purchase hearing aids; and
   WHEREAS, Although hearing disorders may afflict any person, senior
citizens and low-income persons can least afford medical procedures
to improve their hearing; and
   WHEREAS, The ability to hear is necessary to function socially and
to be a contributing member of society; and
   WHEREAS, The person who has a hearing disorder is the best
qualified to determine whether he or she should purchase an
over-the-counter hearing aid; and
   WHEREAS, Hearing test units that allow senior citizens and others
to determine which over-the-counter hearing aid is best for them can
be installed in drugstores; and
   WHEREAS, Hearing aid manufacturers have stated, that
over-the-counter hearing aids are safe for the customer; and
   WHEREAS, The cost of a high-quality hearing aid obtained through
an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser typically exceeds six
thousand dollars ($6,000); and
   WHEREAS, The electronics in a high-quality home entertainment
system with the ability to receive and amplify audio frequencies and
reproduce distortion-free sound at all frequencies and levels are
more sophisticated than the electronics in a hearing aid and cost
significantly less than a typical hearing aid that is sold through an
audiologist or hearing aid dispenser; and
   WHEREAS, The manufacturing cost of high-quality integrated
circuits for current hearing aids is less than twelve dollars and
fifty-cents ($12.50); and
   WHEREAS, Accordingly, hearing aids that sell for two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500) per ear can be produced with replaceable
batteries and offered as over-the-counter products for approximately
one hundred dollars ($100) per ear; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully urges the federal Food and Drug Administration to create
a new over-the-counter hearing aid classification that grants
over-the-counter sales, distribution, and use-status to
one-size-fits-most hearing-aid devices that meet safety and efficacy
requirements; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the federal Food and Drug Administration, and to
the President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and each Senator and Representative from California
in the Congress of the United States.