. ♪ >> reporter: tony saunders has been playing the bass since he was 14. [ tone ] >> very faint. >>eporter: now 61, a hearing test reveals it's taking a toll. saunders needs hearing aids but they can cost up to $4,000 each and usually aren't covered by insurance. >> when you have to prioritize what you're going to spend money on, hearing aids don't make the list. >> it doesn't make the list. i have six kids and 13 grandkids that come before me and my wife. >> reporter: lawmakers are considering bipartisan legislation to create a new hearing aid category -- over the counter. more affordable for mild to moderate hearing loss. they could be available by 2019 if passed. how would you feel about that? >> i would be first in line. >> reporter: this malvina levy has mixed feelings. >> i don't want people to have unrealistic expectations about what it's going to do for them. >> reporter: she worries patients will skip getting professional help and other inexpensive are available, personal sound amplification products. they are unregulated and can't be marketed for hearing loss. >> one of th

. >> reporter: tony saunders has been playing the base since he was 14. now 61, a hearing test reveals it's taking a toll. saunders needs hearing aids, but they can cost up to $4,000 each and usually aren't covered by insurance. >> when it you have to prioritize what you're going to spend money on, hearing aids doesn't make the list? >> i got six kids k grandkids. so they come before me and my wife. >> reporter: now lawmakers are considering legislation to create a new hearing aid category over the counter, more affordable and designed for mild to moderate hearing loss. they could be available by 2019 if the measure passes. >> i'd be first in line. >> reporter: this and you hudio has mixed feelings. >> i don't want people to have unrealistic expectations about what it will do for them. >> reporter: she worries patients will skip getting professional help. >> it's limited. >> reporter: other inexpensive devices are already available. personal sound mpamplification products. but they are unregulated and can't be marketed for hearing loss. if over the counte

loss. >> they aren't getting the help they need and they can't afford it. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: for tony saundersions more, a less expensive over the counter option could be music to their ears. joe fryer, nbc news, san francisco. >>> we're back in a moment with a new warning for parents about something you (avo) come with us... ...to a new world. deeper than the ocean. as unfathomable as the universe. a world that doesn't exist outside you... ...but within you. where breakthrough science is replacing chemotherapy with immunotherapy. where we can now attack the causes of disease, not just the symptoms. where medicines once produced for all, are now designed to fit you. today 140,000 biopharmaceutical researchers go bodly to discover treatments and cures unimaginable ten years ago... ...and are on the verge of more tomorrow. what bad back?gels work so fast you'll ask what pulled hammy? advil liqui - gels make pain a distant memory nothing works faster stronger or longer what pain? advil. anyone ever have occasional y! constipation,diarrhea, gas or bloating? she does. she does. help defend against