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Commemorating the 35th World AIDS Day on December 1, 2023

Washington, dc, statement from administrator samantha power.

This year, World AIDS Day is a call to “Remember and Commit.” 

Today, we do remember. We remember the horrors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Twenty years ago, when President Bush announced the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief – or PEPFAR – he quoted a doctor in rural South Africa who testified: “We have no medicines. Many hospitals tell people: ‘You've got AIDS. We can’t help you. Go home and die.’”

These words paint a chilling and vivid picture of the reality that millions faced before PEPFAR, when research suggested that AIDS would cause early death in as many as half of teenagers in the hardest hit countries of southern Africa.

PEPFAR helped countries take on this disease and turn the tide against AIDS. Its legacy is astounding: 25 million lives saved. 5.5 million babies born HIV-free.

But the threat of HIV/AIDS is far from over. 1.5 million children are still living with HIV, and only 57 percent of them are getting the life-saving treatment they need. If we fail to continue our critical, bipartisan response, gaps like this will only widen – threatening the progress that we have worked so hard to advance.

So now is the time to commit.

We must commit to reauthorize PEPFAR and to continue this lifesaving work – so that people with HIV are never again sent home to die, but that they live long, healthy lives, contribute fully to their communities, and help stop the spread of this devastating disease once and for all.

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World AIDS Day, 1 December 2023

November 28, 2023.

Achim Steiner

UNDP Administrator

In 1983, pioneering AIDS activists agreed the  Denver Principles manifesto , which rejected the notion that people living with HIV were victims and made it clear that they had a central role to play in all aspects of the AIDS response. This was an historic first step towards the  Greater Involvement of People with HIV (GIPA) principle , which promotes the meaningful participation of people living with HIV. That principle, where communities lead, has guided significant strides forward. That is reflected in the fact that the  number of people on antiretroviral treatment worldwide rose almost fourfold , from 7.7 million in 2010 to 29.8 million in 2022. Yet  every minute in 2022,  AIDS claimed a life and 9.2 people living with HIV did not have access to treatment. Unfortunately, rates of new infections and deaths are  not falling rapidly enough to meet the  Sustainable Development Goal target to end AIDS as an epidemic by the end of this decade. 

Countries that are putting communities first like  Botswana and Zimbabwe have achieved significant progress. They have recently exceeded the 95-95-95 testing and treatment targets ahead of the 2025 deadline. It means that 95% of the people who are living with HIV know their HIV status, 95% of the people who know that they are living with HIV are on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of people who are on treatment are virally suppressed. Working alongside key partners such as UNAIDS, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping to ensure that communities can lead and directly inform the support and resources that they need. For instance, in Burundi, UNDP and the Global Fund are supporting community LGBTQI+ organizations that are providing legal aid and psychosocial support. In  Sudan , the partnership’s recent support will help to  maintain HIV treatment for 11,000 people during the conflict. And in the Dominican Republic and  the Philippines , UNDP is ensuring that communities can have their say in national HIV plans and programmes. 

Decades of evidence point squarely to the fact that laws, policies and practices that criminalize people living with HIV and other key populations  increase stigma, block access to services, impede effective HIV responses and cost lives . Brand-new  analysis  by the O’Neill Institute, UNDP and the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) illustrates the major progress made on decriminalization, which has advanced the global HIV response, often driven by the courageous advocacy of communities. Countries such as  the Cook Islands and  Mauritius have joined a growing number of jurisdictions to decriminalize same-sex relations. Yet there is a worrying trend of the introduction of anti-LGBTQI+ laws, prosecution, and persecution in some countries. As part of efforts to break down barriers, UNDP is leading the  SCALE initiative  to support countries and communities to  drive progress on the  historic 10-10-10 targets , in particular the commitment to support the leadership of people living with HIV and other key populations to remove punitive and discriminatory laws, policies and practices that are undermining HIV responses. And a  new UNDP guide offers a range of practical tools to help ensure the greater participation of LGBTI+ persons in political and electoral processes. In 2022, there was an estimated 90% funding gap for HIV prevention programmes among people from key populations

As funding for HIV  falls back to 2013 levels and the estimated 90% funding gap for HIV prevention programmes for key populations in 2022, There is a pressing need to not only increase funding but also finance what works: including evidence- and rights-based  combination prevention and treatment and the integration of HIV into Universal Health Coverage. As we mark the  75 th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2023, all countries have an obligation to actively nurture it, which includes advancing non-discriminatory laws, promoting gender equality and strengthening community responses. As part of the United Nations family, UNDP is committed to supporting communities -- especially people living with HIV and other key populations -- to lead. This is a mission-critical step on the path to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The theme of  #WorldAIDSDay on 1 December 2023 is “Let Communities Lead”.

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Talking with Your Children about HIV: HIV Awareness for Children

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Table of Contents

The facts about hiv, starting the discussion, talking to children of different ages, taking care of yourself.

Note: This fact sheet talks about discussing HIV in general. If you or your child are living with the virus, you may want to read our fact sheet "Talking with Your Children About Your HIV Status or Your Children's Status."

HIV can be a tough subject for parents, guardians, and caregivers to discuss with their children. However, it is important that all families teach their children about HIV. There are many reasons you may want to discuss HIV and AIDS with your children: you or a family member is living with HIV, your child is living with HIV, or you simply want to help your child understand HIV so that he or she does not acquire the virus.

There can be times when it is not appropriate or safe for women to tell their children or families that they are living with HIV. For more information about telling others that you or your child is living with HIV, see our fact sheet on Disclosure and HIV .

Important: if you are feeling threatened right now, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence hotline in the US at 800-799-SAFE [1-800-799-7233; or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)]. You can also search for a safe space online at Domestic Shelters . If you live outside the US, please go to the Hot Peach Pages to find help near you.

HIV can be a tough subject for parents, guardians, and caregivers to discuss with their children. However, it is important that all families teach their children about HIV.

Globally, around 1.7 million people living with HIV are between 10 and 19 years old. In 2020, 150,000 adolescents acquired HIV, UNICEF reports. Young women and girls accounted for 80 percent of these new HIV cases.

In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that young people, ages 13 to 24, accounted for one in five of all people newly living with HIV in 2020. Yet nearly half of young people who are living with HIV don't know it. These statistics serve as a serious reminder to parents that they cannot afford to avoid talking with their children about HIV. For more information, see our fact sheet on  HIV Risk and Teens .

Children and teenagers find out about HIV from all sorts of places: school, TV, radio, friends, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. Talking with your children about HIV lets you give them facts and correct any myths or incorrect information they may have picked up outside the home. It is also a chance to develop an open and honest relationship with your children.

Many parents are uncomfortable talking with their children about HIV because they do not have the correct information themselves. Before you talk to your children about HIV, it is important for you to know the facts.

What is HIV?

• HIV stands for "Human Immunodeficiency Virus"
• Without treatment, HIV will eventually wear down the immune system in most people to the point where they develop serious infections, which can lead to an AIDS diagnosis
• Many people take powerful and effective medications to fight the virus and live full lives; however, there is no cure for HIV

What is AIDS?

• AIDS stands for "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome"
• AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection
• Many people take powerful and effective combinations of medications to fight the virus; however, there is no cure for AIDS

What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?

• Someone can be infected with HIV for many years with no signs of disease, or only mild-to-moderate symptoms
• At least one AIDS-defining opportunistic infection (see a list of opportunistic infections in our fact sheet on  AIDS Defining Conditions )
• A CD4 cell count of 200 cells/mm 3 or less (a normal CD4 count is about 600 to 1,500 cells/mm 3 )
• When people are diagnosed with HIV, they will always live with HIV. Regardless of how low their viral load may be – even if it becomes "undetectable" – they will never go back to being HIV-negative.

For more information, see our fact sheet "What Are HIV & AIDS?"

How is HIV transmitted (spread)?

HIV is transmitted through:

• Blood (including menstrual blood)
• Semen ("cum") and other male sexual fluids ("pre-cum")
• Vaginal fluids
• Breast milk

HIV is not transmitted through:

• Saliva (spit)
• Urine (pee)
• Feces (poop)

A person living with HIV who is taking HIV drugs daily and has an undetectable viral load will not transmit the virus through sex. This is one way that HIV treatment can also be HIV prevention. For more information on this exciting development, please see our fact sheet on Undetectable Equals Untransmittable .

The most common ways in which HIV is passed from one person to another are:

• Re-using and sharing needles and other drug equipment ("works") for injecting drugs (including steroids or hormones)
• Unprotected/unsafe anal or vaginal sex (no condoms or other barriers, or treatment-as-prevention methods). There is little risk of acquiring HIV during oral sex.
• Mother-to-child (during pregnancy , birth, or breastfeeding )

For more information on how HIV is spread, see our fact sheet on HIV Transmission .

How can HIV be prevented?

One of the most important messages you can share with your children is that HIV can be prevented. HIV cannot be transmitted, except when certain body fluids are exchanged (see above). For more information, see our fact sheets on  HIV Prevention and Transmission .

Teach your children that they can greatly reduce the risk of acquiring HIV by:

• Always practicing safer sex (using condoms or other barriers, or treatment-as-prevention methods)
• Not having sex, if that is appropriate for them
• Having types of sex that present no risk of HIV , including masturbation
• Once they are sexually active, getting tested regularly for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and getting any treatment they need
• Taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) , if that is appropriate for them.
• Talking with their partners about sexual histories and HIV/STI status, and when they were each last tested
• Limiting their number of sexual partners
• Not injecting drugs , or if they do, always using new, clean needles and drug equipment

It is also important to tell children that HIV is not transmitted by casual contact such as:

• Being a friend to someone who is living with HIV
• Sharing food or drinks
• Using a shower, bath, or bed used by a person living with HIV
• Kissing (between people with no significant dental problems, such as bleeding gums or open sores)
• Sharing exercise equipment or a swimming pool

Talking to Teens about HIV and HIV Prevention: For the 24th episode of A Girl Like Me LIVE , host Ciarra "Ci Ci" Covin was joined by Kimberly Canady and Ieshia Scott, two long-time The Well Project community advisory board members. Don’t miss the chance to learn from these advocates about how they have initiated the conversation about HIV prevention and awareness with youth in their communities, tips for when to begin talking with children, and what you can do to create a supportive and loving environment in which adolescents and teens will feel comfortable asking questions and empowered to make healthy life choices.     View other episodes in the A Girl Like Me LIVE series

For more information, see our fact sheet on  HIV Transmission .

Every parent has his or her own style when talking about important subjects. Some parents choose to have a specific time when the family will sit down and discuss sexual activities and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. They may give out printed information (e.g., books, info sheets) or other resources to help children understand the facts.

Other parents take hints from their children and from what is going on around them to talk about HIV. For example, they may try to bring up the topic when their children see or hear something about HIV on TV. Ask what the children have heard and what they know about HIV. This will help you figure out what they already know and what you need to explain.

Note: When talking with your children about HIV, questions about death may come up. Explain death in simple terms. It is important not to explain that death is like sleep. Such an explanation may make your children worry that if they fall asleep, they will never wake up. It is also important to explain that while HIV is serious, it can be prevented and treated.

It is never too early to talk to your children about HIV. In fact, by age eight (third grade in the US), many children have already heard about it. Talking to children about HIV is not a one-time-only conversation. Children will be ready to hear different levels of information at different ages. Often their questions will let you know that they are ready to hear more about it. The more open you are to questions about HIV or sex in general, the more likely your children will be to ask them, and the greater your opportunity to give them correct information and help them make healthy choices. Talk early and talk often to make sure that your children have the right information for their age throughout their childhood.

Toddlers/Preschoolers:

Children will be ready to hear different levels of information at different ages.

Children up to age four are learning the basics about their bodies. They do not understand the concepts of disease, death, or sex. However, you can set the stage for future conversations: introduce them to the idea of sexuality by telling them the correct names for body parts. You may also want to tell them that certain body parts are private, and that they should let you know if anyone touches them in a way that makes them uncomfortable. Most importantly, however, you want to give young children the message that you are open to their questions. When they feel they can ask you anything, they will be more likely to talk to you as they get older.

School-age Children:

Children five to eight years old are just learning about health, sickness, death, and sex. They can understand that HIV is a serious health problem which is caused by a virus, and that their chances of acquiring HIV are very low. You do not have to discuss sex at this age; however, you can teach children that some body fluids carry infection and should not be shared.

Preteens/Tweens:

Children nine to 12 years old think a lot about their bodies. Many of them are entering or going through puberty. At this age, children also feel a lot of peer pressure – pressure from other children their age – to try new (and possibly dangerous) things. Now is the time to tell them how HIV is transmitted. Since HIV is often transmitted by sexual contact, now is the time to give your children correct information about sex. Tell them about the importance of sexual health and safer sex . Let them know that sharing needles or syringes for injection drug use , steroid injection, and informal tattooing or body piercing can put them at risk for acquiring HIV. Teach preteens that they have choices in life and that the decisions they make today could affect them for the rest of their lives. You may also want to tell your children that it is okay for them to talk to an adult they trust (parent, teacher, older relative) if they feel unhappy, pressured, or bullied.

Thirteen- to 19-year-olds are often more concerned with their self-image and friendships than with what their parents have to say. Many teenagers take risks and feel that "it can't happen to me." During these formative years, it is important to continue to provide your child with correct information about HIV and safer sex. You may wish to provide resources such as books and videos that they can view on their own. This is also an important age to talk about treatment as prevention , including pre-exposure prophylaxis ( PrEP ) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). For more information, see our fact sheet on  What Parents and Providers Need to Know about HIV Risk and Teens .

Talking with children about HIV can make parents anxious. Educate yourself and have resources on hand. You will feel more comfortable if you know the facts. Try to relax and let the conversation flow naturally. It is important to begin talking with your children at an early age, so that you all become comfortable with the subject and the words used to talk about it. You can use this opportunity to create a supportive and loving environment in which your children will feel comfortable asking questions and empowered to make healthy life choices.

Related articles by The Well Project

Talking with Your Children About Your HIV Status or Your Children's Status

Disclosure and HIV

What Parents and Providers Need to Know about HIV Risk and Teens

• Teens and HIV: The Transition into Adulthood

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Preparing for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

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National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD) is coming up on March 10. We observe NWGHAAD each year to highlight the impact of HIV and AIDS on U.S. women and girls. As we prepare for this year's observance, we want to encourage you to start planning along with us, and to promote resources to help educate women who are at risk for/living with HIV.

Why Focus on Women?

Women and girls represent more than half of all people living with HIV across the globe—that's almost 18 million women and girls living with HIV worldwide. In the United States, women account for approximately one in four people living with HIV and one in five new HIV infections.

Those numbers are important because preventing and managing HIV can be very different for women than for men —an issue that has often been overlooked since the epidemic was first recognized in 1981. In addition to the sex-specific physical effects of HIV, women also face a variety of gender-specific structural and societal challenges, including inequalities that can increase their vulnerability to HIV and negatively impact their health.

Stigma plays a huge role in perpetuating these inequalities. For example, women living with HIV (WLHIV) who are mothers or caregivers may not seek the medical and emotional care/support they need for fear of revealing their diagnosis to their families, friends, or colleagues.

Resources for Women

In our search for HIV and AIDS resources for women, we talked to The Well Project Exit Disclaimer , an organization that works to improve health outcomes and quality of life for women and girls, including trans women, who are living with HIV. They noted that reaching women means providing access to meaningful and relevant information, building community support through social media and online connections, and developing and teaching treatment advocacy skills designed specifically for women.

They note that the need to provide women-specific resources is absolutely vital. The Well Project aims to help WLHIV to successfully navigate the HIV care continuum and achieve viral suppression. And the organization also believes in the importance of a holistic approach for improving women's health, well-being, and sense of empowerment. Psychosocial factors and behavioral health issues are important additional influences that must be addressed in order for WLHIV to achieve an optimal quality of life.

" The Well Project's resources have helped me learn more about HIV and empowered me to want to become an advocate and educator. They have also helped me to step out of the shadows of feeling ashamed. "—Well Project client

The organization maintains a comprehensive online library Exit Disclaimer of educational fact sheets (100+) on HIV and women, and reviews and updates them annually. The sheets address a wide range of issues and aim to improve health literacy, increase engagement in healthcare, and improve overall health outcomes.

The project also offers community support Exit Disclaimer to address stigma and connect WLHIV to an online community of their peers. That effort includes online blogs, A Girl Like Me Exit Disclaimer and Una Chica Como Yo Exit Disclaimer , where women and girls can share their experiences and promote a better understanding of living with HIV, while decreasing isolation and stigma. You can also find information on training Exit Disclaimer for HIV advocacy and capacity building.

We will be offering more resources for the observance in the coming days. Please visit Womenshealth.gov for more information about NWGHAAD , and join the conversation on Facebook Exit Disclaimer and Twitter Exit Disclaimer to share YOUR favorite resources!

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UNIS/SGSM/1366 29 November 2023

The Secretary-General

Message for world aids day 2023, 1 december 2023.

World AIDS Day arrives at a defining moment.

AIDS-related deaths have fallen by almost 70 per cent since their peak in 2004, and new HIV infections are at the lowest point since the 1980s.

But AIDS still takes a life every minute.

We can — and must — end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. 

Reaching this goal means heeding this year’s theme: Let Communities Lead.

The path to ending AIDS runs through communities.

From connecting people to the treatment, services and support they need — to the grassroots activism pushing for action so all people can realize their right to health.

Supporting those on the frontlines of the battle against AIDS is how we win.

That means placing community leadership at the centre of HIV plans, programmes, budgets and monitoring efforts. 

We must also remove barriers to community leadership, and ensure space for local civil society groups to take forward their vital work.

Above all, we need funding.

The AIDS response in low and middle-income countries needs over 8 billion dollars more per year to be fully funded.

This must include scaled-up funding for local programmes led by people living with HIV, and prevention initiatives led by communities.

AIDS is beatable.

Let’s finish the job by supporting communities to end this scourge in their neighbourhoods, their countries and around the world.

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Speech on AIDS

Good day to all

Today on 1st December, we are gathered to race the flag for one of the toughest fights that human beings are facing at the moment. It is a fight against a deadly disease and fight for respect and dignity of life.

One of the deadliest and most destructive ailments that have gripped human society is the pandemic known as AIDS. The disease itself is a retro-viral disease with its pathogen known as HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

In this condition, the pathogen is able to utilize the patient’s body for its own survival and reproduction resulting in the patient’s own body and immunity starts to falters (especially the white blood cells known as T-Cells). However, HIV does not mean AIDS always as many HIV patients can take help of medicines and stay HIV positive.

The threat of this disease can be traced by its difficult to identify symptoms. Most of the early symptoms are that of a common flu with joint pains, fever, period of chills and profuse sweating, glandular infection, tiredness and sudden weight loss etc.

After the disease has progressed, there are more severe symptoms like diarrhea etc. However, the most lethal is Tuberculosis which causes most number of HIV related deaths. India, unfortunately, is the site for the worst number and cases of such fatalities which are showing no signs of abatement.

The biggest reason for the massive spread of the disease is due to its ease of transmission. Among its various modes of transmission, the most pertinent is through body fluids like blood. Many a time unscreened or not properly screened blood is transfused into patients which results in HIV transmission.

Multiple uses of syringes etc is another such mode. Another mode is through a pregnant mother into her unborn child. It becomes especially dangerous in second and later terms (for the fetus/child). The spread can also materialize post birth through breast milk. The third and probably the easiest one to avoid is through unprotected sexual activity.

The sad reality is that there exists no cure for AIDS. The progression can be slowed or stopped by anti retro-viral drugs and therapy. This can significantly enhance the quality and longevity of the patient. However, there is no absolute remedy for the disease.

Even more difficult than the physical destruction is the psychological blow that is dealt to anyone who is diagnosed with such a condition. This is down to misunderstanding and social stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. Herein lies the biggest threat of HIV and must be addressed and corrected to help give the people with the disease a fighting a chance.

Thank you for your patience and attention!

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Short speech on hiv (340 words).

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Here is your short speech on HIV, Aids!

The HIV is Human Immuno-deficiency Virus. It destroys the human immunity system. This virus causes the AIDS – Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome – an incurable disease. This disease is caused by the viruses which prevents formation of the WBCs, White Blood Corpuscles – a constituent of blood which are responsible for our immunity. Destroying the WBCs and preventing their formation, human natural immunity that is power to fight against diseases, is reduced and gradually extinct, and making the body prone to various diseases.

Image Courtesy : upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/budding-Color.jpg

The person who is affected by HIV, then, becomes carrier of them and infects other persons also. This communicable disease is sexually transmitted; the other way is through body fluid and infected syringes and blood transmission.

This disease has spread so fastly in the world, especially in the poor and developing nations of the world that it has posed a serious threat against the human existence. Africa, Asia, Latin America and other parts of the world has come under its cover. Today (in 2000), about thirty-five million people are HIV infected, of which about 29 million is in the sub-Saharan area.

African and Asian countries are under highest spread of HIV, South Africa being the largest HIV infected land while in terms of number of HIV patients; India is emerging as the leader, sad. About 3 million people die every year due to HIV infection.

No drugs or treatments have been proved effective to cure it, even some primary stage inventions are very costly.

Reasons for its spread in poor countries:

a. These countries have most of the population under poor condition, not having enough nutrition. It makes them more prone to the disease.

b. No awareness about preventive steps and knowledge have resulted into wide spread of HIV.

c. Some traditions and customs of such countries have led to practice polygamy, multi-partner sex, prostitution, which have spread the disease.

d. No or less policy implementation to create awareness and prevention of the disease in poor countries.

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May: Awareness Months & Holidays for Causes (2024)

Every month, there are hundreds of national and international celebrations dedicated to raising awareness and support for meaningful causes.

For those working to bring attention to important topics, it can be challenging to keep track of the next relevant awareness event. We’re here to help.

At Good Good Good , we aim to help people feel more hopeful and do more good. For years we’ve privately curated a comprehensive list of important cause-themed holidays that we’ve used for creating content on our good news Instagram , our Goodnewsletter , our Goodnewspaper , and on this very website .

We’ve organized this list of observances and events by month — and are making them public for the first time. Our hope is that this will help you or your organization bring attention to important issues.

Where applicable, we’ve included resources (usually good news around particular topics, action steps on how to make a difference , or relevant quotes ) — and encourage you to share them if you find them helpful.

The main days and months you should know about for May are:

May is the fifth month in the Gregorian calendar and has 31 days. It is the final month of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere and was named for the Greek goddess Maia.

Explore our comprehensive list of national and international months, weeks, days, and birthdays for the month of May:

May Celebrations:

Awareness months.

There are several awareness months celebrated in May — though the five that often get the most attention include Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month , Mental Health Awareness Month , Jewish American Heritage Month , National Clean Air Month, and No Mow May.

ALS Awareness Month

American stroke awareness month, apraxia awareness month, arthritis awareness month, asian american and pacific islander heritage month.

Read and share ideas about how to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month

Be Kind to Animals Month

Read and share good news about animals

Better Hearing and Speech Month

Bladder cancer awareness month, borderline personality disorder awareness month, brain cancer awareness month, brain tumor awareness month, celiac awareness month, cystic fibrosis awareness month, ehlers-danlos syndrome (eds) month, fibromyalgia awareness month, gardening for wildlife month.

Read about the water-guzzling yards getting a celebrity makeover

Healthy Vision Month

Hepatitis awareness month, high blood pressuren education month, huntington’s disease awareness month, jewish american heritage month.

Read and share ideas on how to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month

Lupus Awareness Month

Lyme disease awareness month.

Read the good news about the new mRNA vaccine that may offer protection against Lyme

Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month

Mental health awareness month.

Read about how to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month

Mobility Awareness Month

Multiple sclerosis awareness month, myositis awareness month, older americans month, national asthma and allergy awareness month, national bike month, national cancer research month, national clean air month.

Learn about the WHO air pollution guidelines aiming to improve health

National Melanoma / Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month

National nf (neurofibromatosis) month, national physical fitness and sports month.

Learn about creating a low- or no-mow lawn — and more ways to create an eco-friendly home and garden

Oncology Nursing Month

Pet cancer awareness month.

Learn about the inspiring work being done by the ‘We Rate Dogs’ community to support dogs with cancer and other medical problems

Small Business Success Month

Uk maternal health awareness month, wildfire preparedness month.

Read this good news story about the program providing stability for kids after wildfires

Awareness Weeks

National nurses week.

Week-long event in May

Brain Tumor Action Week

Mental health awareness week, national eosinophil awareness week, food allergy awareness week, teacher appreciation week.

1st full week of May

Read and share our complete guide on how to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week

Deaf Awareness Week

National pet week.

1st week of May

Follow your new favorite pet influencers on social media

Children’s Mental Health Week

Puppy mill action week.

Starts the Monday before Mother’s Day

Be Kind To Animals Week

Brain injury awareness week.

2nd week of May

Queer and Transgender Asian American/Pacific Islander Week

Last week of May

Awareness Days

Save the Rhino Day - May 1

Melanoma Monday - 1st Monday of May

National Teacher’s Day - 1st Tuesday of May

Follow the most amazing teachers on TikTok and read about famous teachers worth knowing about

World Tuna Day - May 2

World Maternal Mental Health Day - May 3

International Leopard Day - May 3

Wild Koala Day - May 3

World Press Freedom Day - May 3

Greenery Day in Japan - May 4

World Asthma Day - May 5

National Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day - May 5

International Day for Osteogenesis Imperfecta - May 6

National Nurses Day - May 6

International Family Equality Day - Every 1st Sunday of May

PPP (Postpartum Psychosis) Awareness Day - 1st Friday of May

Green Up Day in Vermont - 1st Saturday of May

National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day - May 7

World Donkey Day - May 8

World Ovarian Cancer Day - May 8

World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day - May 8

Fair Trade Day - May 8

John Lewis Day of Action - May 8 

Read and share the best quotes from John Lewis

Ependymoma Awareness Day - May 10

World Lupus Day - May 10

Mother’s Day - 2nd Sunday of May

Women’s Check-Up Day - 2nd Monday of May

Fintastic Friday - 2nd Friday of May

World Migratory Bird Day - 2nd Saturday of May

Learn about the viral Mother's Day campaign encouraging ‘phone calls not flowers’

International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND) Day - May 12

International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day - May 15

International Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) Awareness Day - May 15

National Sea Monkey Day - May 16

National Honor Our LGBT Elders Day - May 16

National Do Something Good For Your Neighbor Day - May 16

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia - May 17

World AIDS Vaccine Day - May 18

Read about the potential good news about an AIDS vaccine

Mental Health Action Day - May 18

Learn about the people working to support mental health around the world

‍ Global Accessibility Awareness Day - 3rd Thursday of May

National Transgender Pride Day - May 19

Hepatitis Testing Day - May 19

National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day - May 19

Endangered Species Day - 3rd Friday of May

Bike-to-Work Day - 3rd Friday of May

World Bee Day - May 20

Listen to this inspiring podcast with Bee Girl Sarah

International Behcet’s Disease Awareness Day - May 20

International Blue Cone Monochromacy Awareness Day - May 20

World Autoimmune Arthritis Day - May 20

National Rescue Dog Day - May 20

Read and share these reasons to adopt a rescue dog

World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development - May 21

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day - May 21

Find out what fruits and vegetables are in season right now

World Meditation Day - May 21

World Dog Day - May 21

Read good news about dogs

World Fish Migration Day - May 21 (Celebrated every other year)

International Day for Biological Diversity - May 22

Harvey Milk Day - May 22

Read the best quotes from Harvey Milk

World Turtle Day - May 23

Read this good news story about drones protecting turtles

International Day to End Obstetric Fistula - May 23

Mister Rogers’ 143 Day - May 23

In honor of Mister Rogers’ love for the number 143 — learn how to celebrate 143 Day and check out the 143 best quotes from America’s neighbor .

European Day of Parks - May 24

Pansexual and Panromantic Visibility Day - May 24

Meet these celebrities you may not know are pansexual

National Schizophrenia and Psychosis Awareness Day - May 24

Learn more about ​​Schizophrenia and other commonly misunderstood mental disorders

World Otter Day - May 25

World Thyroid Day - May 25

Intersectional Environmentalist Day - May 28

Learn about intersectional environmentalism and the founder of the organization Intersectional Environmentalist, Leah Thomas

Menstrual Hygiene Day - May 28

National Alligator Day - May 29

Learn About Composting Day - May 29

Start by learning about food waste

World Multiple Sclerosis Day - May 30

World Parrot Day - May 31

World No Tobacco Day - May 31

Notable Birthdays

Birthdays of leading activists, nonprofit leaders, and other world-changers born in the month of May:

Dwayne Johnson’s Birthday - May 2 

Kumail Nanjiani’s Birthday - May 2 

Keith Haring’s Birthday - May 4

Hank Green’s Birthday - May 5

Read all of Hank Green’s best quotes

Willie Mays’ Birthday - May 6 

MrBeast’s Birthday - May 7

Read about YouTuber MrBeast’s ‘Team Seas’ initiative

Rosario Dawson’s Birthday - May 9 

Bono’s Birthday - May 10 

Read and share Bono’s most inspirational quotes

Tony Hawk’s Birthday - May 12 

Stephen Colbert’s Birthday - May 13 

Madeleine Albright’s Birthday - May 15 

Read and share Madeleine Albright’s most inspirational quotes

Malcolm X’s Birthday - May 19 

JoJo Siwa’s Birthday - May 19 

Harvey Milk’s Birthday - May 22 

Read and share Harvey Milk’s most inspirational quotes

Bob Dylan’s Birthday - May 24 

Octavia Spencer’s Birthday - May 25 

Betty Shabazz’s Birthday - May 28 

Laverne Cox’s Birthday - May 29

You might also like: The Best May Quotes

Explore More Events:

Main Awareness Calendars: All Awareness Holidays | Heritage Months | International Days

More Awareness Calendars:   Animals | Pets | Environment & Sustainability | LGBTQ+ | Black & African American | Mental Health | Disability | Cancer | HIV/AIDS

Awareness Days & Months: January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

Is this list missing a holiday or awareness week/month? Let us know. We want to ensure this list is comprehensive and inclusive.

Calendar of May’s national days, awareness months, and more

Article Details

April: Awareness Months & Holidays for Causes (2024)

12 Months of the Year, In Order

June: Awareness Months & Holidays for Causes (2024)

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Let Communities Lead - World AIDS Day 2023

The world can end AIDS, with communities leading the way. Organisations of communities living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV are the frontline of progress in the HIV response. Communities connect people with person-centred public health services, build trust, innovate, monitor implementation of policies and services, and hold providers accountable.

But communities are being held back in their leadership. Funding shortages, policy and regulatory hurdles, capacity constraints, and crackdowns on civil society and on the human rights of marginalised communities, are obstructing the progress of HIV prevention and treatment services. If these obstacles are removed, community-led organisations can add even greater impetus to the global HIV response, advancing progress towards the end of AIDS.

This World AIDS Day is more than a celebration of the achievements of communities; it is a call to action to enable and support communities in their leadership roles. World AIDS Day 2023 will highlight that to unleash the full potential of community leadership to enable the end of AIDS:

• Communities’ leadership roles need to be made core in all HIV plans and programmes and in their formulation, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. “Nothing about us without us.”
• Communities’ leadership roles need to be fully and reliably funded to enable the required scale up,and be properly supported and remunerated. “Not ending AIDS is more expensive than ending it.”
• Barriers to communities’ leadership roles need to be removed. An enabling regulatory environment is needed which facilitates communities’ role in provision of HIV services, ensures civil society space, and protects the human rights of all, including of marginalised communities, to advance the global HIV response. “Remove laws that harm, create laws that empower.”

Communities are leading World AIDS Day, and across the world are shaping the events and tailoring the detailed calls to their specific needs. Through photos and videos shared by groups on social media and aggregated by UNAIDS, people will be able to witness the kaleidoscope of events taking place, be inspired by the determination and hope, and hear communities’ calls for action.

Adaptable materials for World AIDS Day will be shared on the UNAIDS special World AIDS Day page, beginning in November. To highlight the narrative continuation, the campaign materials’ colour scheme and fonts are similar to, and echo, those which were used in July in The Path That Ends AIDS . The imagery is also similar to, and echoes, the design concept as used in The Path That Ends AIDS, with important shifts including that to highlight communities’ leadership role the angle has moved from looking from above people to looking up at them, and more face on. Materials are tailorable by countries and communities.

Because change depends not on a moment but on a movement, the message “Let Communities Lead” will not only ring out on one day. It will be at the core of activities that will build up across November, see the release of the World AIDS Day Report – entitled Let Communities Lead – in late November, reach a crescendo on World AIDS Day on 1 December, and continue to echo throughout December and beyond.

“The end of AIDS is possible, it is within our grasp” says UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. “To follow the path that ends AIDS, the world needs to let communities lead.”

National Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day – March 10

March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD). Share the social media posts below to help spark conversations about HIV and highlight prevention methods to reduce  HIV among women . You can also find and share  Let’s Stop HIV Together  campaign resources for women in  English  and  Spanish .

Hashtags: #NWGHAAD #StopHIVTogether

Download English Graphic

March 10 is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day to raise awareness about the impact of HIV on women and show support for women and girls with HIV. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/clinicians/prevention  #NWGHAAD #StopHIVTogether

Today is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day to address the impact of HIV on women and girls. When we reduce HIV stigma and promote testing, prevention, and treatment for women, we can help #StopHIVTogether. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/clinicians/prevention #NWGHAAD

Download Spanish Graphic

El 10 de marzo es el Día Nacional de Concientización sobre el VIH/SIDA entre las Mujeres y Niñas, un día para crear conciencia sobre el impacto del VIH en las mujeres y mostrar apoyo a las mujeres y niñas con VIH. https://bit.ly/3YtYhoR  #NWGHAAD #DetengamosJuntosElVIH

Hoy es el Día Nacional de Concientización sobre el VIH/SIDA entre las Mujeres y Niñas, un día para abordar el impacto del VIH en las mujeres. #DetengamosJuntosElVIH reduciendo el estigma, y promoviendo las pruebas, la prevención y el tratamiento. https://bit.ly/3xhXMCl  #NWGHAAD

Download Video [MP4 – 9 MB]

Knowing your HIV status puts the power in your hands. Take charge of your health and get tested this National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day! https://bit.ly/3E2qjiL  #NWGHAAD #StopHIVTogether

Download Video [MP4 – 3 MB]

PrEP is for women too! This National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, talk to your doctor about taking PrEP, a medicine that can reduce your risk of getting HIV. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3E5YEO7 . #NWGHAAD #StopHIVTogether #ShesWell

Download Graphic

If you have HIV, becoming and staying undetectable is one of the best things you can do to stay healthy, and it means you won’t transmit HIV to your sexual partner. Undetectable = Untransmittable. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Xvy6N1 . #NWGHAAD #StopHIVTogether

March 10 is National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Health care providers: This is a great reminder to share the power of #PrEP with your female patients. Access CDC’s updated PrEP Guidance: https://bit.ly/3PgvZfx . #NWGHAAD #StopHIVTogether

El 10 de marzo es el Dia Nacional de Concientización sobre el VIH/SIDA entre las Mujeres y Niñas. Médicos: Este es un gran recordatorio para compartir el poder de la #PrEP con sus pacientes femeninas. Acede las directrices actualizadas de los CDC sobre la PrEP: https://bit.ly/3p3iQMt . #NWGHAAD #DetengamosJuntosElVIH

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A Proclamation on Older Americans Month,   2024

            Older Americans have worked their whole lives to achieve the American Dream for their families and communities, making our Nation stronger and building a future of possibilities for new generations.  This month, we celebrate their immense contributions to our country and stand firm in our efforts to ensure that every American can age with the dignity and financial security that they deserve.

     Sixty years ago, a third of older Americans still lived in poverty, and close to half had no health insurance.  Over the years, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid helped to change that.  Today, they are lifelines for tens of millions of Americans and proof of what government can do to transform lives for the better.  I will always fight to protect and strengthen these programs.  Folks have paid into Social Security and Medicare from their very first paychecks; the benefits of these programs belong to the American people.  It is a sacred trust that people rely on.  That is why I have proposed strengthening Social Security — not cutting it as others have suggested — by asking the highest-income Americans to pay their fair share.  My new Budget would also extend the life of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund indefinitely to protect the crucial health insurance that nearly 67 million Americans today rely on.  At the same time, we are cracking down on so-called junk fees on retirement savings to ensure financial advisors give advice that is in your best interest rather than theirs, protecting the savings you have worked for your whole life. 

     Across the board, we are also working to cut the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs to give folks a little more breathing room.  After years of others trying, we finally beat Big Pharma, giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices as the Department of Veterans Affairs has done for years.  Our Inflation Reduction Act also caps the cost of insulin for people on Medicare at $35 per month, down from as much as $400 per month.  Next year, it will cap out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 per year, even for expensive drugs that cost many times that.  We have also expanded the range of services that people on Medicare have access to, including dental, mental health, and nutritional health services.  Additionally, following an Executive Order I signed, hearing aids are now available over the counter, so millions of people with hearing loss can now buy them at a store or online without a prescription, saving up to $3,000 per pair. 

     Folks who have spent their whole lives building a community deserve to live, work, and participate in that community as long as they would like.  That is why my Administration is also making historic investments in home care.  The American Rescue Plan delivered $37 billion to help States strengthen their Medicaid home care programs by recruiting, training, and paying more home care workers and providing counseling, training, and support to family caregivers.  Last year, I signed the Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers, the most comprehensive set of executive actions in history for improving care for hardworking families.  My new Budget would significantly expand Medicaid home care services to reduce the long waiting list and empower more folks to continue full lives in their communities.  We made sure home care workers are getting a bigger share of Medicaid payments and nursing homes have enough staff to guarantee every resident the safe, healthy, caring environment they deserve.  Further, we’re making groundbreaking investments in the fight to end cancer and other deadly diseases as we know it, reminding us that our country can do big things when we work together.

     There is still so much we can do to support our seniors.  I have also called to strengthen the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-paid workers who are not raising children in their homes — saving Americans, including our Nation’s older workers, an average of $800 on their taxes.  My new Budget requests funding to extend my Administration’s Affordable Connectivity Program, which has made internet more affordable for 4 million seniors.  

     Older Americans are the backbone of our Nation.  They have built the foundation that we all stand upon today, guided by the core values that define America — freedom, equality, decency, and opportunity.  Their work has helped prove that our Nation can do big things when we come together.  Now, it is up to all of us to build a future on those same values — a future where we defend democracy instead of diminish it, safeguard our freedoms, invest in communities that have too often been left behind, and deliver for older Americans while ensuring the people they love will be taken care of for generations to come.   

     This month, we celebrate older Americans’ contributions by recommitting to those ideals and defending everyone’s right to live full lives with dignity and respect.  We will always have their backs.

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2024 as Older Americans Month.  This month and beyond, I call upon all Americans to celebrate older adults for their contributions, support their independence, and recognize their unparalleled value to our Nation.

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

                        JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Two years later, over-the-counter hearing aids are still finding their groove

It’s been a little less than two years since the Food and Drug Administration formally cleared the way for over-the-counter hearing aids — a new class of medical device aimed specifically at those with mild to moderate hearing loss. With prices that can sometimes be less than half the cost of traditional prescription hearing aids, and without the requirement of a trip to an audiologist’s office, these new products have expanded Americans’ access to hearing help.

Who should use an OTC hearing aid?

The need for guidance, can an otc hearing aid make your hearing worse, it’s still day one, what to do if you’re considering otc hearing aids.

Some 35 million Americans older than 12 have mild or moderate hearing loss . Yet, according to the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), only 1 in 5 people who could benefit from hearing aids have them . Given these stats and the availability of OTC devices, we should be in a new golden age for better hearing health.

But even though there are more than 40 companies now selling OTC devices, we haven’t seen a significant increase in adoption .

• CES 2023: New Sennheiser wireless earbuds help you hear better in noisy places
• HP is now in the OTC hearing aid game, powered by Nuheara
• Sony to bring over-the-counter hearing aids to the masses

According to stats collected in January 2024, the U.S. OTC hearing aid market was worth just $123 million . To put that in perspective, if we use an average cost of $1,000, that would mean only 123,000 devices were sold. Or put another way, only 0.35% of Americans who could benefit from the devices bought them. More worryingly, some experts fear that those who do opt for OTC hearing aids may be at risk of worsening their hearing loss.

Experts agree there’s a lot of confusion in this space.

“We’ve heard from many people that they’re confused about OTC hearing aids,” HLAA Executive Director Barbara Kelley told Digital Trends. “HLAA did a survey recently, and we found that 63% of the people said they didn’t have enough information about OTC hearing aids to make a purchase.”

The confusion is understandable. The FDA has a clear and concise explanation of what is (and isn’t) an OTC hearing aid , who they’re for, and how they work — they’re strictly for folks who suffer from mild-to-medium perceived hearing loss.

Unfortunately, unless you were to search “OTC hearing aids,” it’s unlikely you’d ever come across it. Moreover, by the time you realize that you might need an OTC product, it could be too late.

“The majority of OTC candidates are not aware that they have a hearing loss,” said Dr. Leigh Smith, an audiologist and owner of Florida Audiology Associates , just north of the Tampa Bay area on Florida’s Gulf Coast — a prime location for those who might be suited for OTC hearing aids. “If patients began screening their hearing at the recommended age of 65, we’d see a wider range of OTC candidates. However, by the time most patients begin screening their hearing or have a suspected loss of hearing, many fall outside of OTC guidelines.”

If your hearing difficulty has progressed from the mild-to-medium range that OTC devices are designed to address, you may be disappointed if you eventually try them. This was reflected in a 2023 study by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), which cited effectiveness in addressing hearing difficulties as the No. 1 reason for dissatisfaction with OTC hearing aids, followed closely by concerns over poor sound quality.

This could help explain the relatively high return rates of OTC devices seen so far. The aptly named Eargo, one of the few hearing aid companies that releases quarterly reports, saw a 34% return rate in the second quarter of 2023 — a number that has actually gone up from 24% in 2021 .

The return rate for the OTC category as a whole might be even higher. “Anecdotally, we have seen that about 50% of individuals who purchase an over-the-counter device return the device,” Dr. Ruth Reisman , an audiologist, adjunct professor of audiology, and the owner of Urban Hearing in Brooklyn, New York, told us.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing the OTC category is one of its own making. Accessibility was seen as one of the biggest barriers to people getting the right hearing help at the right time. And because OTC hearing aids can now be sold in-store or online without any prescription or professional consultation, their availability has exploded.

Many have likened this scenario to being able to buy reader glasses instead of visiting an optometrist for a set of prescription frames. Unfortunately, hearing loss can be much more complicated than simply needing a boost of volume.

“It’s rare to be exactly within [the FDA’s mild-to-medium loss] range,” Reisman said. “They could have a sloping hearing loss. They could have a flat hearing loss. They can have a rising loss. It varies from person to person.”

Without a professional hearing test, there’s no way to know. Some OTC hearing aids have app-based tests designed to tune the devices to your specific hearing needs — Jabra’s Enhance series and Sony’s CRE-C10 /E10 are two notable examples. But even these have limitations.

Apps typically offer adjustments to large frequency bands like bass, high-frequency, and mid-frequency. But, Resiman said, they lack the fine-tuned, frequency-specific adjustments needed for complex hearing loss.

Some of Reisman’s patients discovered this after their OTC purchase. “They say they spent $1,000 on this device, and it basically doesn’t work,” she said.

Smith found the same thing was true in her practice in Florida. “Since the start of 2024, our practice has only seen two patients with OTC hearing aids — neither of which were actual candidates for the devices and needed prescription hearing aids.”

Needless to say, no one expects to make their hearing loss worse when they buy a set of hearing aids. And, yet, it’s a risk. There are two main ways this can happen: actively and passively.

If a set of hearing aids provides too great a level of amplification, they can actively make your hearing loss irreversibly worse over time. This risk is greatest when you buy products that are labeled as hearing aids but actually are personal sound amplification products, or PSAPs.

PSAPs are often visually indistinguishable from OTC hearing aids. They sell for far less than OTC hearing aids — sometimes well under $100 — which makes them very attractive. But unlike OTC products, they’re entirely unregulated, and nothing is stopping them from delivering unsafe levels of amplification.

The FDA has strict rules around the features a product must have to qualify as an OTC hearing aid. But enforcement has proven weak. As early as November 2022, Amazon came under pressure to clean up its listings — many of the supposed OTC hearing aids on its site actually were PSAPs.

Amazon promised to address the problem , telling ConsumerAffairs that “we have proactive measures in place to prevent prohibited listings so customers can shop with confidence.”

However, a quick search for “ otc hearing aids ” on Amazon still yields dozens of devices that use the term OTC in their titles along with the words “hearing aids,” yet which are just PSAPs.

Given the FDA’s rules, you’d think a set of genuine OTC hearing aids would be free from over-amplification concerns. But Reisman said that isn’t always the case. She regularly tests both prescription and OTC hearing aids to see how they perform out-of-the-box and has found instances where these devices exceed what she refers to as “uncomfortable loudness levels or upper tolerance levels for the ear.”

Even if your OTC hearing aids conform to the FDA’s guidelines for amplification safety, they could be passively harming you. Hearing loss can be caused by a variety of factors. Some, like noise-induced hearing loss, are linear. The louder the sounds and the longer you’re exposed to them, the worse your hearing will get. And even though the damage caused is permanent, it doesn’t get worse on its own — only continued exposure to loud sounds can do that.

There are medical conditions, however, that can also cause hearing loss. Left unchecked, these can be progressive, ultimately leading to permanent and sometimes total loss of hearing. In the early stages of these conditions, hearing loss may be mild and an OTC product could offer substantial relief. But if it keeps you from being examined by your doctor or an audiologist, you may not receive adequate care.

“At-home tests are unable to identify the site of the problem (outer ear, middle ear, or inner ear), are not performed with calibrated equipment or under sound isolation standards, and do not test speech or background noise performance of the patient,” Smith said. “In my professional opinion, there is no positive side to at-home testing.”

OTC hearing aid manufacturers appear to be struggling with the balance between convenience and quality health care. Sony, the only manufacturer that responded to our questions, reiterated several times that its customers benefit from the ability to purchase its hearing aids — mostly from online stores — without the need for a doctor’s prescription.

However, when we asked specifically about its relationship with audiologists, Sony’s head of business development for over-the-counter hearing aids, Takuya Sakamoto, told us that “they continue to offer counseling on what is the right option for each patient and their guidance on what to purchase, which is still a critical component of a patient’s overall hearing health care journey.”

While it seems that the OTC hearing aid market is off to a rocky start, there are also reasons to be optimistic.

“It’s still day one of this entirely new market,” said Kelley, of the Hearing Loss Association of America. And both the HLAA and the ASHA agree that more needs to be done to increase education.

To that end, the HLAA, along with OTC manufacturers and health care providers, are creating more resources to help people understand who these devices are for.

It has created a Tip Sheet and frequently conducts “OTC-101 Ask the Experts “ webinars that let people ask questions so they can make informed decisions about their hearing health. All of its resources can be found at hearingloss.org/OTC , and the next webinars are planned for May 22 and June 5, 2024.

Everyone we spoke to also agrees that despite ongoing misconceptions about hearing aids, the topic of hearing health has received a significant boost in awareness thanks to the publicity surrounding OTC products.

“This is a good thing for the entire hearing health community,” Kelley said. “Many of us don’t pay attention to our hearing, even though it’s a crucial part of overall health and well-being.”

Reisman also expressed cautious optimism: “Hearing in general is getting a lot of press which is bringing awareness. For those people who are motivated to at least try and pursue something over nothing, then I think that’s great as long as they’re taking the necessary precautions — getting medically evaluated and getting their hearing assessed.”

The additional awareness may also help with one of the leading reasons why people don’t seek help for their hearing loss. According to the ASHA’s 2023 polling , “more than half of American adults ages 40 and older (56%) acknowledged lacking excellent hearing, but only 8% had been treated. The primary reason for not seeking help was the belief that the hearing difficulties being experienced weren’t ‘bad enough’ to warrant care.”

Having your hearing professionally assessed remains the best advice for those who believe they have untreated hearing loss. Whether this results in the purchase of an OTC hearing aid or a prescription device, you’ll know where you stand and you’ll be able to monitor the progression of your hearing health over time.

However, if you’re thinking of buying an OTC product directly, here are some good rules of thumb:

• Make sure the product is a genuine OTC hearing aid and not a PSAP, which can be difficult to do when looking at a product description on Amazon.
• Stick with big, familiar brands.
• If a product is priced very cheaply, e.g. under $200, that’s a sign you should be cautious.
• The FDA maintains a database of registered OTC hearing aid products — if you can’t find the product you’re considering, that might also be a red flag.
• When in doubt, ask a doctor.

It can take our brains a long time to adapt to hearing aids, so make sure there’s a generous return period — the FDA’s rules do not mandate this, so you’ll have to do your homework. Sony and Eargo both offer 45-day trial periods, which seems to have become an industry norm. But longer windows also exist: Jabra’s free trial lasts 100 days.

Finally, you may want to think about each company’s support commitments. Since most OTC products can’t be adjusted or fine-tuned by an audiologist, you’ll be limited to the adjustments you can make within the companion app (if there’s no app, there will be very few available adjustments). Some companies can connect you to a remote hearing specialist via the app, who can further adjust the hearing aids with your input.

Editors' Recommendations

• Sennheiser’s All-Day Clear are its first OTC hearing aids
• JLab’s new earbuds are smaller than a dime, and it says $99 hearing aids are on the way
• These are Sony’s first over-the-counter hearing aids
• Expect to hear more about hearing, now that the FDA’s new hearing aid rules are here
• Olive Max provides low-cost alternative to hearing aids
• Tech for Change
• The Food Fight

Bose has been working on hearing enhancement technology for several years, but today the company has finally announced its SoundControl Hearing Aids, an $850 set of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared hearing aids that can be configured by buyers at home, without the need for an in-person appointment with an audiologist.

Initially, they will be sold directly from Bose starting May 18 in five states: Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, with nationwide availability to follow.

If you're on the hunt for true wireless earbuds deals, here's an offer that you should consider -- the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro for only $170, following a $60 discount from Samsung on their original price of $230. We're not sure how much time is remaining before they return to their regular price, so you need to make a quick decision on whether to buy these wireless earbuds. If you want them, proceed with the purchase as soon as you can as the offer may end at any moment.

Why you should buy the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer studio-quality sound while maintaining a comfortable design, so you'll be able to keep listening to your favorite playlists or watch several episodes of streaming shows over up to 8 hours of battery life and up to 30 hours including their charging case. The wireless earbuds easily pair with Samsung Galaxy devices, but they also work great if you're using an iPhone. If you ever lose them, SmartThings Find will help you locate them, and they come with IPX7 resistance against water, which means they can withstand immersion in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes.

• Entertainment

There is currently no Disney Plus free trial. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. In fact, there hasn't been a Disney Plus free trial for many years. But all is not lost. While you can't get Disney Plus for free, there are quite a few very cheap options. We list all of the tiers and options below: Everything from the $8 ad-supported tier to the $25 Disney Bundle Trio, which includes ad-free Disney Plus, ad-free Hulu and ESPN+. Occasionally Disney has a deal that gets you three months for $6 total, but that's not available right now. We'll keep you updated if it ever comes back.

The best and most reliable way to save is through the Disney Bundle, which sees ESPN Plus and Hulu thrown in for just $15 a month. On their own, Disney Plus is normally $8 per month, Hulu is $8, and ESPN is $10, so this is a great deal.  If it sounds good to you, you should start your subscription now. The price of the Disney Bundle increased to $15 on October 12, 2023.

More From Forbes

Dr. marc fagelson talks tinnitus and coping with it more accessibly in interview.

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Tinnitus can be annoying or even disabling, but does no physiological harm.

Dr. Marc Fagelson is an audiologist and a professor of audiology and speech-language pathology at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. He’s also in charge of running a tinnitus clinic at the Mountain Home VA Medical Center, conveniently located across the street from his perch at the school, which has been in operation since 2001. Dr. Fagelson sees about 1,300 patients at the clinic; between his academic work and the clinical role, Dr. Fagelson’s days aren’t lacking for fun and excitement. Beyond all that, Dr. Fagelson is part of the scientific advisory committee at the American Tinnitus Association .

The ATA, as it’s known, is a few weeks away from attending the annual Tinnitus Research Initiative conference. This year’s event will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from June 10–12.

“I’ve spent a lot of my adult life keeping track of and having dialogues with patients in order to learn not just about the tinnitus sound, but about all the baggage that the tinnitus imposes,” Dr. Fagelson said of his work. “The burden the tinnitus imposes on the patient is based not just on the tinnitus sound, but on the circumstances of its onset [and] the influence on functional activities the patient wants to go through.”

Dr. Fagelson, who played a lot of music in his younger years and would experience what he described as “white noise hissing” in his ears before bed, explained there are different types of tinnitus. One form, albeit rare, is known as objective, which Dr. Fagelson characterized as a doctor being able to “hold a stethoscope up to your ear and I could hear your tinnitus.” The more common type of tinnitus, he said, is known as subjective. This is when a person experiences sounds even when they understand there is zero ambient noise emanating from their environment. Where this feeling comes from, Dr. Fagelson told me, has some variability, but noted “there’s general consensus in the field, that tinnitus is essentially a side effect, a byproduct, of a very predictable, oftentimes beneficial, but in this case, not beneficial form of neural plasticity that was provoked by some change in the person’s hearing.” He added people who visit an audiologist and their audiogram comes back within the normal range still can have “subclinical” changes in hearing such that the tinnitus is bothersome or debilitating. The brain, Dr. Fagelson said, has a lot of influence over tinnitus, but emphasized tinnitus isn’t harmful insofar as “it’s going to damage anything” in the body. It can serve as a trauma reminder and exacerbate symptoms associated with mental health conditions such as PTSD and depression.

“Clearly, the brain has the capacity to either redistribute energy in certain ways [that] rewire certain functions in certain ways in order to spare pain or other unpleasant sensation in some other part of the body,” Dr. Fagelson said. “Imagine a person loses some hearing sensitivity. It might be clinical, it might be subclinical, but their hearing sensitivity changes. In response, the brain may try to modify the ongoing neural activity in the hearing pathway. You can think of the hearing pathway essentially as a conduit that carries electrical signals up through the brainstem up to the part of the brain where sound gets processed. We understand that tinnitus exists in this pathway; it’s a legitimate, measurable, honest-to-goodness nerve signal in that pathway that stimulates the brain in a manner that is consistent with the brain being stimulated by a sound that occurred out here somewhere. This is why when people have tinnitus, they’re 100% certain they are hearing a sound, even as they are 100% certain that sound does not exist in the world around them. We want to look at the brain’s natural tendency to adapt to modify its own processing, when there is dysfunction or damage somewhere else in the body... somewhere in the hearing pathway. The tinnitus arises as a side effect of that compensation.”

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Dr. Fagelson reiterated that having tinnitus does not mean someone is going deaf or “going crazy.” He tries to help his patients better cope with tinnitus by trying to isolate it from their other problems if possible. Tinnitus is really good at, he said, “mutually reinforcing mental health problems, emotional problems, [and] other kinds of functional problems.” As an example, he pointed to a person having insomnia suddenly experiencing tinnitus and believing their sleeping pattern will worsen as a result. To the degree that’s disabling for someone is dependent on how they perceive their tinnitus. In other words, how a person deals with their tinnitus is largely a matter of attitude and outlook, whether positive or negative. What Dr. Fagelson and his team tries to do is provide patients with the most information they can muster in order to help them “adjust their thinking and behaviors regarding tinnitus in order to live a life less disturbed or bothered by it.”

“On its own, tinnitus is more or less harmless,” Dr. Fagelson said.

Dr. Fagelson expounded on his role as a clinician in his tinnitus clinic, telling me tinnitus is not something he or his colleagues can “shut off.” His work, then, is largely therapeutic insofar as it’s imperative to get people to understand there is no cure but rather “the reaction to the tinnitus is what’s more important.” He noted studies have attempted to show a correlation between the tinnitus sound and the tinnitus disruption; it turns out, the sound and the disruption are in fact “very poorly correlated.” Ultimately, Dr. Fagelson said, it’s the patient’s response to the tinnitus that ends up dictating the amount of burden.

“Let’s just acknowledge that the sound is going to exist. It’s going to be there,” he said of approaching tinnitus treatment. “Let’s work instead on what you think about the sound. We can change that—we can give you information about where the sound comes from [and] we can confirm for you your tinnitus is not a symptom of a disease you need to worry about. It’s actually a very natural and predictable side effect of your brain trying to compensate for the damage to your ears.”

In terms of accessibility and technology, Dr. Fagelson said he fits many patients with hearing aids even if they have “minimal” loss or “borderline normal” hearing. Modern hearing aids, he told me, are very computer-like in nature in that people can connect their hearing aids to their smartphones and stream audio content like Spotify and podcasts. In addition, there are sound therapy apps people can download to their phones and stream to the hearing aid over Bluetooth. All of these tools help, paradoxically enough, because Dr. Fagelson said most patients report their tinnitus being more pronounced in quiet environments. Dr. Fagelson said doctors must “walk that fine line” in intervening when there’s not a strong evidence base, but acknowledged doctors are cognizant of how many patients do better with more sound. Nothing exists that reliably cures tinnitus, but Dr. Fagelson said “a sizeable proportion” cope better with masking-type sounds like music.

“I’m working under the assumption we’re not going to find one cure [for tinnitus] that’s going to work for everybody,” Dr. Fagelson said. “We need to be adaptable. We need to employ the patient’s own story [and] their own narrative when we give them information to help make their thinking about tinnitus more accurate. A lot of what I’ve learned working at the [clinic] is patients with bothersome tinnitus respond in a positive way to many of the same kinds of counseling tools that trauma psychologists and psychiatrists have been employing since World War I.”

Dr. Fagelson told me Tinnitus has been around medical literature since Babylonian times and perhaps further back to 700–800 BCE. This, he said, speaks to the ubiquity of the condition; he likes to think of it as part and parcel of the human experience in many ways. Tinnitus has been a part of the human existence since we first appeared on the planet. Moreover, he likened tinnitus to the white whale in Moby Dick , telling me “the more you think about it, the more obsessed about it you get [and] the more in your face it is.” One of the reasons tinnitus is so prevalent today in terms of awareness, Dr. Fagelson said, is the proliferation of social media and a willingness of more people to document and share their experiences. All told, he said, tinnitus certainly “seems to be more on people’s radar than it used to be.”

As to the future, the oft-asked, most existential question for audiologists like Dr. Fagelson is why some people get tinnitus while others don’t. There is no definitive answer, and there may never be, but Dr. Fagelson reemphasized the importance of cognitive behavioral therapy as the “strongest evidence base” for treatment. If doctors can’t make it go away, and Dr. Fagelson was unequivocal in saying “so far we cannot, in any reliable manner, do that,” then the best course of action for the foreseeable future is helping patients control their response to it easier.

For his part, Dr. Fagelson said the Tinnitus Association’s scientific advisory committee will continue focusing on “developing or identifying subtypes of patients with bothersome tinnitus so we can do a better job of trying to match or tailor specific existing interventions but apply them to people where they have the greatest probability of success.”

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May Day, Mother’s Day and Much More! May Holidays and Observances in 2024

A pril showers bring May flowers, and May brings a whole lot of fun!  May holidays and observances in 2024  run the gamut from Beltane to Mother's Day, Memorial Day and so much more. May holidays and observances honor everything from moms to strawberries, gardening, Star Wars , craft beer, wine, hamburgers and the United States Armed Forces. Find out all the fun May holidays, plus honorary weeks and months, so you can get festive (and full of the delicious food and drink that the season brings).

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What big holidays are in May?

May has a host of important holidays, including Lag BaOmer, Mother's Day ,  Memorial Day  and Beltane, as well as some fun ones, like Cinco De Mayo .

Is May 24, 2024, a holiday?

May 24, 2024, is National Asparagus Day, Aviation Maintenance Technician Day, National Brother's Day, National Caterers Appreciation Day, National Escargot Day, National Scavenger Hunt Day, National Road Trip Day and Tiara Day.

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May 23, 2024, is Lucky Penny Day, National Taffy Day and World Turtle Day.

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Is May 21 a holiday?

Several observances or holidays fall on May 21, 2024, including National American Red Cross Founder's Day, Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day, National Memo Day, National Strawberries and Cream Day, National Talk Like Yoda Day, National Waitstaff Day and World Meditation Day.

When is 'Star Wars' Day? 

Speaking of Yoda,  Star Wars  Day falls on May 4, 2024 (and every year). This date was chosen because this day is also called May the 4th Be With You Day. 

When is the full moon in May?

May's full moon comes at the end of the month this year, falling on May 23, 2024 . This one is known as the Flower Moon.

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• Plant Something Day 
• Take Your Parents To The Playground Day 
• World Baking Day 
• National Band Director’s Day
• National High Heel Day 
• National Pick Strawberries Day
• National Quiche Lorraine Day
• National Rescue Dog Day
• National Streaming Day
• National Women In Aerospace Day 
• World Bee Day 

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• Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day
• I Need a Patch For That Day 
• International Tea Day 
• National American Red Cross Founder's Day
• National Memo Day
• National Stop Nausea Day 
• National Strawberries and Cream Day
• National Waiters and Waitresses Day 
• National Talk Like Yoda Day
• National Waitstaff Day
• International Tea Day
• World Day For Cultural Diversity
• World Fish Migration Day 
• World Meditation Day 
• Buy a Musical Instrument Day
• Harvey Milk Day
• International Day for Biological Diversity
• National Boss Babe Day 
• National Maritime Day
• National Solitaire Day
• National Vanilla Pudding Day
• Sherlock Holmes Day 
• World Paloma Day
• World Goth Day
• Chardonnay Day 
• National Lucky Penny Day
• National Taffy Day
• World Turtle Day
• World Crohn's and Colitis Day 
• Aviation Maintenance Technician Day
• Don't Fry Day 
• International Women's Day for Peace and Disarmament 
• National Asparagus Day
• National Brother's Day
• National Caterers Appreciation Day
• National Escargot Day
• National Road Trip Day 
• National Scavenger Hunt Day
• Tiara Day 
• World Schizophrenia Day 

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• Geek Pride Day 
• Lag BaOmer (until the evening of May 26)
• National Bath Bomb Day 
• National Brown-Bag It Day
• National Italian Beef Day 
• National Missing Children's Day
• National Sing Out Day
• National Tap Dance Day
• National Wine Day
• World Thyroid Day 

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• Indianapolis 500
• National Blueberry Cheesecake Day
• National Cherry Dessert Day 
• National Paper Airplane Day
• Sally Ride Day 
• World Dracula Day 
• World Lindy Hop Day 
• World Red Head Day 
• Memorial Day 
• National Cellophane Tape Day
• National Grape Popsicle Day
• National Hairstylist Mental Health Awareness Day
• National Sunscreen Day
• Nothing to Fear Day 
• International Hamburger Day
• International Day of Action on Women’s Health 
• National Brisket Day
• Scripps Spelling Bee 
• Whooping Crane Day 
• World Hunger Day
• Learn About Composting Day
• Mount Everest Day
• National Alligator Day 
• National Biscuit Day 
• National Coq Au Vin Day 
• National Flip Flop Day 
• National Paperclip Day
• National Senior Health and Fitness Day 
• National Snail Day 
• Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day
• World Digestive Health Day 
• World Otter Day
• International Hug Your Cat Day 
• National Creativity Day
• National Hole In My Bucket Day
• National Mint Julep Day
• World Multiple Sclerosis Day
• Autonomous Vehicle Day
• National Heat Awareness Day 
• National Macaroon Day
• National Save Your Hearing Day
• National Smile Day
• Necrotizing Fasciitis Awareness Day 
• World No Tobacco Day
• World Parrot Day 

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May Weekly Holidays and Observances 2024

• National Small Business Week (April 28-May 4)
• Hurricane Preparedness Week (May 5-11)
• Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (April 29-May 5)
• Children's Book Week (May 6-12)
• Screen Free Week (May 6-12)
• Sun Awareness Week (May 6-12)
• National Safe Sun Week (May 20-26)
• Dystonia Awareness Week (May 3-11)
• Be Kind to Animals Week (May 5-11)
• Drinking Water Week (May 5-11)
• North American Occupational Safety and Health Week (May 5-11)
• Public Service Recognition Week (May 5-11)
• National Pet Week (May 5-11)
• National Tourism Week (May 5-11)
• Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6-10)

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• National Nurses Week (May 6-12)
• National Hospital Week (May 12-18)
• National Stuttering Awareness Week (May 13-19)
• National Public Gardens Week (May 10-19)
• National Women's Health Week (May 12-18)
• National American Craft Beer Week (May 3-10)
• Bike to Work Week (May 13-19)
• Brain Injury Awareness Week (May 20-26)
• National EMS Week (May 19-25)
• Public Works Week (May 19-25)

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May Monthly Holidays and Observances

• ALS Awareness Month
• Arthritis Awareness Month
• Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
• National   Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month
• National Barbecue Month
• Better Speech and Hearing Month
• National Blood Pressure Month
• Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month
• Brain Cancer Awareness Month
• Building Safety Month
• Celiac Disease Awareness Month
• International Civility Awareness Month
• Correct Posture Month

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• Date Your Mate Month
• National Egg Month
• Food Allergy Action Month
• National Foster Care Month
• Get Caught Reading Month
• Gifts From the Garden Month
• Global Employee Health and Fitness Month
• Haitian Heritage Month
• National Hamburger Month
• Healthy Vision Month
• Hepatitis Awareness Month
• Homeschool Awareness Month

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• International Internal Audit Awareness Month
• National Inventors Month
• Jewish American Heritage Month
• Lupus Awareness Month
• National Lyme Disease Awareness Month
• National Mediterranean Diet Month
• Melanoma / Skin Cancer Detection & Prevention Month
• Mental Health Awareness Month
• Military Appreciation Month
• National Pet Month
• National Physiotherapy Month
• Responsible Animal Guardian Month
• National Salad Month
• National Salsa Month
• National Strawberry Month
• National Teen Self-Esteem Month
• Tuberous Sclerosis Awareness Month
• International Victorious Women Month

Next,  master our Memorial Day trivia.