Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After FDA Change, Tech Brands Restyle Hearing Aids As Lifestyle Products
Axios: Hearing Aids Gain Hipper Reputation As "Lifestyle" Products After Going OTC
Consumer electronics giants like Sony and Bose have staked out a piece of the new market for over-the-counter hearing aids, disrupting a $10 billion segment that's been dominated by niche audiology companies. An FDA rule finalized seven months ago created easier-to-access options for the 30 million people in the U.S. suffering from hearing loss — and is making devices that once carried a stigma more of modern lifestyle convenience. (Reed, 5/19)
On race and health —
USA Today: Black Women Find Shortage When Looking For Black Sperm Donors
When Mardochée Julien-West and her wife decided to become moms through in vitro fertilization, they knew they definitely wanted Black babies. They just didn’t know how hard that would be. Julien-West remembers first looking donors at a cryobank in 2020. When she and her wife Yevette filtered the search for Black men, their options dwindled from hundreds of choices to only two. (Lee Myers and Triggs, 5/21)
KFF Health News: A Striking Gap Between Deaths Of Black And White Babies Plagues The South
Years before the Bamberg County Hospital closed in 2012, and the next-closest hospital in neighboring Barnwell shut its doors in 2016, those facilities had stopped delivering babies. These days, there’s not even an ultrasound machine in this rural county 60 miles south of Columbia, much less an obstetrician. Pregnant women here are left with few options for care. (Sausser, 5/22)
In other health and wellness news —
Fox News: Reports Reveal The Risk For Strokes Is On The Rise In Young Adults
May is National Stroke Awareness Month, and along with education on strokes, doctors are looking for answers to why strokes are happening in younger patients. The American Stroke Association reports more strokes in adults under 50. One Houston doctor says he isn’t sure exactly why this is happening, but thinks our changes in lifestyles could be an answer. Daniel Gainer had a stroke at just 29 years old. "This was my first real health problem, and out of nowhere it just happened" Daniel Gainer. (Addison, 5/20)
KFF Health News: Young People Are Having Less Sex Than Their Parents Did At Their Age. Researchers Explore Why
Young adults aren’t behaving the way their parents did: They’re not drinking as much, they’re facing more mental health challenges, and they’re living with their parents longer. On top of that, computer games and social media have become a sort of stand-in for physical relationships. All that means young Californians aren’t having as much sex. (Reese, 5/22)
The New York Times: Moving Is A Monumental Task For Many Older Americans. These Organizers Can Help
Senior move managers may spend weeks or months helping seniors and their families sort through belongings, pack and move into a new home. (span, 5/20)
