The Washington Post reports the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a “long-awaited” proposal to “allow millions of consumers to buy over-the-counter hearing aids in stores or online without a prescription or medical exam.” The Post says the decision “to make hearing devices more accessible and affordable for millions of patients with mild to moderate hearing loss is the first step in a process that could make them available to consumers as soon as next fall.”

Reuters reports White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki “said the proposed rules…should increase competition to drive down prices, so the devices cost ‘hundreds instead of thousands of dollars.’” She told reporters the changes “will help millions of Americans with mild to moderate healing loss get access to cheaper and more convenient access to hearing aids.” Meanwhile, Roll Call reports Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra “said the regulation is personal to him, as his mother had been hoodwinked and struggled to get her money back from an unscrupulous manufacturer.”

From the news release of the American Association for Justice.