On Sunday 3 March 2024 it’s World Hearing Day – and this year’s theme is “Changing mindsets: let’s make ear and hearing care a reality for all!”
Who experiences hearing loss?
Anyone can experience hearing loss or deafness. In the UK, 1 in 6 people have some degree of impaired hearing.
That’s more than 10 million people!
Ear and hearing care
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fewer than 1 in 5 people around the world who could benefit from hearing care are able to do so.
Meanwhile, 1 in 2 people aged 12-35 years old face the risk of avoidable hearing loss.
In line with this year’s World Hearing Day theme, the WHO and World Hearing Forum have released a photo exhibition and related stories, to draw attention to the positive impact of timely identification and management of ear and hearing problems. View the exhibition here.
Safety for Deaf and Hard of hearing people
Ear and hearing care also goes beyond personal care; it includes the wider safety of people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
Whether at home, at work or out in the community, this includes things such as:
- Creating inclusive and supportive environments with equal opportunities
- Removing communication barriers
- Ensuring availability of equipment & technology to ensure personal safety (for example, alarms for Deaf or hard of hearing people – such as our Deaf Alerter – in public buildings, workplaces, and hotels).
Read more
Want to know more about World Hearing Day? Visit the campaign website here: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hearing-day/2024
