World Hearing Day is being observed today across the world to raise awareness about the measures that can be taken to prevent hearing loss.
The day is observed every year on 3rd March by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it encourages actions that can promote hearing and ear care.
The theme for World Hearing Day 2021 is ‘Hearing care for ALL’. According to the World Health Organization, around 5 percent of the world population (430 million people) suffers from disabling hearing loss with around one-third of people above 65 years of age affected by it.
It is estimated that by 2050 over 700 million people – or one in every ten people – will have disabling hearing loss. “Disabled hearing loss is defined as hearing loss greater than 40 dB hearing levels (dB HL) in the better hearing ear in adults and greater than 30 dB HL in the better hearing ear in children,” says Nikkhil K Masurkar, Executive Director, ENTOD Pharmaceuticals.
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Masurkar added that aging is by far the most common factor that leads to hearing loss. However, a number of other factors are also responsible for hearing loss in children and young adults. “These include genetic disorders, certain kinds of infectious diseases, chronic ear infections, toxicity from use of certain drugs, and exposure to excessive noise.
However, over the years, noted improvements have been witnessed in the field of hearing care including technological advances that have radically improved hearing aid devices.
