World Hearing Day – 3 March 2020
Posted on 6th March 2020 at 16:32
Every year the World Health Organisation (WHO) celebrates and actively campaigns for sharing and promoting actions for the prevention of hearing loss and improved hearing care.
There is a different theme every year and this year for 2020 it is “Hearing for Life” – Don’t let hearing loss limit you. The key message is effective interventions to ensure individuals with a hearing loss can achieve their full potential. It recognizes that, at all life stages, communication and good hearing health connect us to each other, our communities, and the world. It highlights that appropriate and timely interventions can facilitate access to education, employment and communication. Unfortunately, across the globe, ear and hearing care are insufficient, and the WHO argues that all public health systems should include ear and hearing care.
Untreated hearing loss can contribute to isolation, anxiety, depression and cognitive decline and can affect both children and adults. Hearing loss is a major public health issue and it is the third most common physical condition after arthritis and heart condition. 74% of adults get their eyes examined every 2 years and 62%of adults visits a dentist every year but only 23% of adults receive hearing screening during physical examination.
Early signs and symptoms of hearing loss may include:
• difficulty hearing other people clearly and misunderstanding what they say, especially in noisy places
• asking people to repeat themselves in social settings
• listening to music or watching TV with the volume higher than other people need
• difficulty hearing on the phone
• finding it hard to keep up with a conversation
• feeling tired or stressed from having to concentrate while listening
Intervention at an early stage can facilitate effective communication and improve social, functional and emotional state of the brain and mental health. In addition, it enables positive action towards hearing preservation and treatment. For example, wearing ear protection will preserve and protect from further damage to hearing especially if you are exposed to loud noise or work in a noisy industry or play an instrument in a band or orchestra. A diagnostic hearing test can also detect underlying medical conditions or a mild hearing loss, such as, a simple wax build up which can be easily treated.
To celebrate World Hearing Day, Simply Hearing are offering FREE hearing evaluations for the whole of March. To book your FREE hearing check just call 0113 267 0000 or email info@simply-hearing.com
Meharban S Riyat.
Clinical Audiologist
March 2020
Tagged as: Hearing Loss, World Hearing Day
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