World Hearing Day 2023: "Ear and Hearing Care for All!"

World Hearing Day is observed every year on March 3 to spread awareness among people around the world about deafness and hearing problems, their causes, prevention and the need to take care of ear health.

Hyderabad: Deafness and hearing loss, whether it is permanent or temporary, can greatly affect the lives of people, which is why it is also called hearing disability. More people can be saved from the problem of hearing loss due to any reason at a global level, so to spread awareness among the general public, every year March 3 is observed as “World Hearing Day”.

World Hearing Day is being observed around the theme “Ear and Hearing Care for All!” in the year 2023 by the World Health Organization. With this theme, the World Health Organization has appealed to integrate ear and hearing care into the primary care category globally under the goal of universal health. According to the organization, ear and hearing examination and care in primary care can greatly benefit the general public in diagnosing hearing problems.

According to statistics, about 1.5 billion people are facing complete or partial deafness or hearing loss globally. In India, more than six and a half crore people are facing the problem of partial or complete deafness. It is a matter of concern that a large number of people do not pay much attention to the problem in the early stages of hearing loss due to any reason. Due to this, there is a delay in the diagnosis of the problem and which sometimes also causes it to become severe.

The first global report on hearing disorders was released by the World Health Organization in the year 2021. According to the report, by the year 2050, about 2.5 billion people worldwide or 1 out of every 4 people may become victims of hearing loss problems of minor or major levels. The report also stated that globally the number of people at high risk of hearing loss is increasing globally.

In the report, listening to loud sounds and increasing noise pollution were one of the main reasons behind the weakening or loss of hearing ability. It also stated that if no concrete action is taken in this direction soon, by the year 2050, about 700 million people will be needing ear-related and hearing-related care and other rehabilitation services.

Due to the continuous increase in the cases of deafness, the World Health Organization organized an 'International Ear Care Day' in the year 2007 to spread awareness among people about hearing problems and related factors and make efforts to provide all possible help to them. Later on, in 2016, this day was renamed 'World Hearing Day'.

According to government statistics, more than 27,000 children are born deaf or hard of hearing in India every year. Due to a lack of awareness and a lack of proper investigation on time, people often do not pay much attention to their problem in the beginning, which delays the diagnosis further. Although doctors believe that in many cases of hearing loss if the problem is detected on time, not just children but also adults can get relief from the problem with the help of advanced hearing technology.

The Government is taking efforts in this direction, the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness (NPPCD) is run by the government under the National Health Mission. It aims to prevent avoidable hearing loss due to disease or injury, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of problems responsible for hearing loss or deafness, and to work for the medical rehabilitation of persons of all ages with hearing loss.

According to doctors, there can be many reasons for hearing problems. Out of which ageing is one of the most common reasons. In fact, with increasing age, many times the nerves of a person's ears start getting weak, and due to this, the problem of deafness or hearing loss starts.

According to the data, the problem of deafness is seen in 33 per cent of people above the age of 60 years, while at the age of 74, this figure increases to 50 per cent. Apart from this, noise pollution, traffic noise, excessive use of earphones, listening to songs on mobile for a long time, accident or head injury, ear infection or any disease and heredity can also cause hearing loss or deafness due to many other reasons.