Did you know there are 4 million Australians living with hearing loss?
And this figure is predicted to increase to almost 9 million by 2050 as the population ages.
World Hearing Day in Australia is held on 3 March each year to raise awareness of how to prevent deafness and hearing loss, and to promote better ear protection and health across the world. Hearing loss costs the Australian economy more than $15 billion a year. Then there’s the personal cost that we can’t put a dollar figure on.
Hearing is vital for people’s communication abilities, quality of life, social participation, and health.
Hearing often deteriorates as people get older but it can happen at any stage of life, with one in two young people at risk of hearing loss due to unsafe listening. You can also be at risk of noise-induced hearing loss if you regularly work in a noisy place or listen to music through headphones or attend loud concerts or fitness classes with amplified music.
In reality, hearing loss due to noise cannot be reversed. But it is possible to have good hearing throughout your life through ear and hearing care. Many common causes of hearing loss can be prevented. This can include turning the volume down on your devices, say 60 percent of maximum, using well-fitted noise-canceling headphones, limiting time in noisy environments, and using sound exposure alert apps.
The next World Hearing Day on 3 March 2023 will have the theme ‘Ear and hearing care for all! Let’s make it a reality.’
We will highlight the importance of integrating ear and hearing care within primary care, as an essential component of universal health coverage.The key messages for WHD 2023 are:
- Ear and hearing problems are among the most common problems encountered in the community.
- Over 60% of these can be identified and addressed at the primary level of care.
- Integration of ear and hearing care into primary care services is possible through training and capacity building at this level.
- Such integration will benefit people and help countries move towards the goal of universal health coverage.
The World Hearing Day 2023 will mark the launch of the Primary ear and hearing care training manual for health workers and doctors. The manual will be accompanied by a trainer’s handbook and other community resources.
More information is available on the WHO website. For those who wish to adapt these visuals to suit their own campaigns, edit-able formats are available upon request by writing to whf@who.int