Nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide, or one in four people, will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) warned Tuesday.
The first-ever global report on hearing revealed that at least 700 million of these people will require access to ear and hearing care and other rehabilitation services unless action is taken.
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Dr. Tedros Adhanom[/caption]
In a statement, WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that untreated hearing loss can have a devastating impact on people’s ability to communicate, study and earn a living. It can also impact people’s mental health and their ability to sustain relationships.
Dr. Ghebreyesus added: 'The report outlines the scale of the problem but also offers solutions in the form of evidence-based interventions that we encourage all countries to integrate into their health systems as part of their journey towards universal health coverage.'
The report was released ahead of World Hearing Day, which is annually marked on March 3, underlined the need to rapidly step up efforts to prevent and address hearing loss by investing and expanding access to ear and hearing care services.
WHO noted that investment in the ear and hearing care has been shown to be cost-effective, revealing that governments can expect a return of nearly US$ 16 for every US$ 1 invested.
In children, almost 60% of hearing loss can be prevented through measures such as immunization for the prevention of rubella and meningitis, improved maternal and neonatal care and screening for and early management of otitis media, an inflammatory diseases of the middle ear.
As for adults, noise control, safe listening and surveillance of ototoxic medicines together with good ear hygiene can help maintain good hearing and reduce the potential for hearing loss
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