Millions of Americans with mild-to-moderate hearing loss may soon be able to buy high-quality — and cheaper — hearing aids at their local drugstore.

Now that the proposed rules are out, it could take about a year for new hearing aids to hit the market, according to experts.

Fewer than 30% of people who need hearing aids actually wear them, said Dr.

"Even though some of our most major manufacturers are out there doing extremely amazing jobs with hearing technologies, we still don't necessarily have that stamp from some of the bigger players that some people might find to be a little bit more attractive," she said.

At about a $2,500 out-of-pocket cost on average — high-end devices can run over $8,000 — most adults can't afford hearing aids.

"Over time, we believe truly, with greater accessibility and more people wearing hearing aids at lower prices, they just become more palatable," Maguire told CBS MoneyWatch in an August interview.

"You don't look at someone who's wearing glasses or readers the same way you might with a hearing aid," he said, but believes hearing aids will soon shake that stigma.

Meanwhile, many people with hearing loss require more sophisticated hearing aids, experts note.

Over-the-counter tech — much like reading glasses for vision — won't address severe hearing loss or specific needs.

"Over-the-counter hearing aids are only going to be for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss — and they will self-diagnose, self-fit," said Barbara Kelley, executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America.

"For more severe hearing loss, you still have to go through the process and end up in the good care of either an audiologist or a hearing aid specialist."

The FDA, its hands full with the COVID-19 health crisis, missed its August 2020 deadline to propose rules for selling hearing aids over the counter under the 2017 law