World Hearing Day 2020 under theme of “Hearing for Life”

02 / 03 / 2020

By Marwa Nassar - -

The World Hearing Day 2020 – slated for March 3 – will be held under the theme of “Hearing for Life” with an aim to encourage people suffering hearing problems not to “let hearing loss limit you.”

On the World Hearing Day 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) will highlight that timely and effective interventions can ensure that people with hearing loss are able to achieve their full potential. It will draw attention to the options available in this respect.

The World Hearing Day is meant to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world.

Each year, the WHO decides the theme and develops evidence-based advocacy materials such as brochures, flyers, posters, banners, infographics and presentations, among others. These materials are shared with partners in government and civil society around the world as well as WHO regional and country offices.

The WHO also organizes at its headquarters in Geneva an annual World Hearing Day event. In recent years, an increasing number of Member States and other partner agencies have joined World Hearing Day by hosting a range of activities and events in their countries.

The World Hearing Day is expected to deliver a number of key messages to encourage global action to prevent hearing loss. At all life stages, communication and good hearing health connect people to each other, their communities, and the world. For those who have hearing loss, appropriate and timely interventions can facilitate access to education, employment and communication.

Moreover, the event will highlight that there is lack of access to interventions to address hearing loss, such as hearing aids, at the global level.

In recent years, an increasing number of WHO member states and other partner agencies have joined World Hearing Day by hosting a range of activities and events in their countries.

About HearWHO mobile app.

In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched “hearWHO”, a free application for mobile devices which allows people to check their hearing regularly and intervene early in case of hearing loss.

The app is targeted at those who are at risk of hearing loss or who already experience some of the symptoms related to hearing loss.

Among those who will particularly benefit from this new tool include people who are often exposed to high levels of sound, such as those who listen to loud music or work in noisy places; people who use medicines that are harmful to hearing; and people aged above 60 years.

Symptoms indicating the onset of hearing loss include a ringing sensation in the ear, known as tinnitus; frequently missing parts of a conversation; or a tendency to increase the volume of television, radio or audio devices.

Early detection of hearing loss is crucial to identify risky behaviors that need to be changed and ascertain the most appropriate intervention needed to address hearing loss.

Such interventions are identified by hearing care professionals and can range from captioning and sign language to hearing aids and cochlear implants. Interventions to prevent, identify and address hearing loss are cost-effective.

“Many people with hearing loss are unaware of it and as such they miss out on educational, professional and everyday-life opportunities,” said Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, and Violence and Injury Prevention. “Regular hearing checks ensure that hearing loss is identified and addressed as early as possible.”

The hearWHO app is based on a validated digits-in-noise technology: users are asked to concentrate, listen and enter into their mobile devices a series of three numbers when prompted. These numbers have been recorded against varying levels of background sound, simulating listening conditions in everyday life.The app displays the users’ score and its meaning and stores the outcome of the test so that the user can monitor hearing status over time. Reminders to take the test regularly can be set by users. The app can be used by individuals as well as health providers with a view to facilitating hearing screening especially in low-resources settings.

“Above all, this app will help us increase awareness of the importance of ear and hearing care,” said Dr Shelly Chadha, WHO Technical Officer. “Once lost, hearing does not come back. Through World Hearing Day, and with the support of this app, we encourage people to ‘Check your hearing!’ in order to help preserve this valuable gift that helps us to enjoy life.” Over 5% of the world’s population – or 466 million people – have disabling hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children).

It is estimated that by 2050 over 900 million people – or one in every ten people – will have disabling hearing loss. Globally, hearing loss which has gone unaddressed poses an annual cost of $ 750 billion.

About World Hearing Forum:

Striving to support people with hearing problems, the World Health Organization launched the World Hearing Forum as a global network of stakeholders promoting ear and hearing care worldwide. Members of this advocacy network will commit to facilitating implementation of World Health Assembly resolution WHA70.13 on “Prevention of deafness and hearing loss” and supporting Member States in this regard.

Approximately 466 million people live with disabling hearing loss; of these, 34 million are children. In addition, 1.1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss due to exposure to noise in recreational settings and through personal audio devices.

It is expected that these numbers will rise considerably in the coming decades, unless action is taken to prevent and treat hearing loss.

The World Hearing Forum (2018-2025) will fill a critical gap by bringing a collective vision to advocacy and collaboration in this field. Through networking and by sharing knowledge, skills and experiences from the field, the World Hearing Forum will galvanize action towards a world in which no person experiences hearing loss due to preventable causes and those with hearing loss can achieve their full potential through early identification and appropriate management of their condition.