help a lot of people either, their hearing loss being too great etc. And you're probably right in that they'll apply high pressure for you to buy a pair of hearing aids that don't truly address your needs, they are too powerful (your loss doesn't warrant it), etc. Too much hearing aids for your loss, try to get you to overspend.
And from my personal perspective, being a long-time hearing aid person, do they offer services such as warranties, and if the aids need to be (one or both of them) serviced, what sort of back up aids do they offer you? What other sort of services do they offer you? What about cleaning the aids regularly? I am wrestling w/ cleaning one of my hearing aids (ear wax), which is a recurring issue, so do they offer cleaning svcs?
And of course, the top issue, is to wear the damn things. I nagged my Dad for the longest time (bless his heart, he's gone now), to wear his damn aids, he wouldn't, and I know it takes time to get used to wearing them. And it does take getting used to. Start out by wearing them a little bit, such as in quiet venues. Don't wear them at a rock concert (just kidding). And if they bother you, turn them off. You got to wean yourself into wearing them, let people know too, around you. In my case, I was hard of hearing since day 1, so I picked up lip reading, which is my life saver.
I can take out my hearing aids and the quiet is so blissful, and I'm still catching most of the conversations too. See if your local community offers such help as lip reading school (believe it or not, there is such a thing). The lip reading will also go a long way towards helping you.
And yes, the OTC will hurt these established hearing aid places, for they (not all of them) are sometimes themselves high pressure, every time I went to my former hearing aid place, they high-pressured me. I didn't like. I can't afford a $5,000 pair (minimum cost too) of hearing aids every time I went into his office). I got pissed off, still haven't been back.
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