World Hearing Day 3rd March 2020

Don’t let hearing loss limit you

-Dr. P Krishna Sowmya Reddy, Consultant ENT, KIMS SAVEERA Hospital, Anantapur

•             466 million (over 5% of world’s population) people all over the world live with disabling hearing loss – of that 34 million are children

•             1.1 billion young people (12-35 yrs) are at the risk of hearing loss due to exposure to noise in recreational settings and through personal audio devices.

•             By 2050, over 900 million people will have disabling hearing loss (1 in 10 people)

•             Disabling hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 40db in the better hearing ear in adults

•             In children, hearing loss greater than 30 dB in the better hearing ear

•             Approximately, one third of people over 65 years are affected by disabling hearing loss.

•             60% childhood hearing loss is due to preventable causes.

•             People with hearing loss benefit from early identification, use of hearing aids, cochlear implants, and assistive devices, sign language and social support.

•             All people should check their hearing from time to time, especially who are at high risk of hearing loss, such as adults above 50 years, those working in noisy places, people listening to music at high volumes for longer duration.

•             Practice safe listening – noise cancelling earphones, moderate volume when listening to music, ear plugs in noisy environments

•             Many people live with unidentified hearing loss, often failing to realize that they are missing out on certain sounds and words. Globally there is lack of access to interventions to address hearing loss such as hearing aids

•             Services for early identification and intervention like yearly public screening programs should be made available through the health system

•             Improving access to education and vocational rehabilitation services and raising awareness among employers about needs of people with hearing loss will decrease the unemployment rates for the people with hearing loss

Noise Pollution

Urbanization, Industrialization, rapid growth in population, customs/political/ religious ceremonies are the main reasons for increased noise pollution.

Cardiovascular problems like hypertension & Ischaemic heart diseases, hearing impairments, sleep disturbances, child development disorders, dementia, aggression & anxiety.