World Hearing Day is an annual awareness day every March 3 that the World Health Organization (WHO) created to promote hearing health globally. The theme for this year’s World Hearing Day is: “To hear for life, listen with care!” Here at Hearing Health Foundation (HHF), we couldn’t agree more.
Our Keep Listening campaign aims to create a major culture shift around how people of all ages think about their hearing and hearing protection. Just as exposure to the sun and air pollution has long-term effects on health, we want everyone to better understand how hearing loss from listening too loud for too long builds up over time and, left untreated, affects overall health. Through Keep Listening we are promoting the message to proactively protect our hearing and avoid hearing loss and tinnitus, which can also result from noise exposure.
Even slight changes in routine can have positive effects on hearing. We can take sound breaks to rest our ears, use earplugs in noisy situations, and advocate for quieter public spaces. The message is not to avoid concerts, sports, or other forms of crowd-pleasing entertainment, but to use protection and be aware of our “daily sound dose”—our noise exposure for the day—and not overdo it day after day (or night after night).
World Report on Hearing
Ahead of the awareness day every year, the WHO issues a World Report on Hearing, which we’re pleased to excerpt here:
“Hearing is the sense with which we perceive the sounds around us; through hearing we engage with our environment, communicate with others, express our thoughts, and gain education. Globally more than 1.5 billion people experience some decline in their hearing capacity during their life course, of whom at least 430 million will require care.
“Loss of hearing, if not identified and addressed, can have far-reaching consequences, adversely affecting language development, psychosocial well-being, quality of life, educational attainment, and economic independence at various stages of life. Unaddressed, hearing loss imposes a global cost of more than $980 billion annually.
L.A.-based musician Princess sings about hearing health.
“Many causes of hearing loss can be prevented. Common ear diseases, ear infections, vaccine-preventable illnesses, and exposure to noise and chemicals, endanger the hearing of many people at different ages.
“The WHO estimates that more than 1 billion young people put themselves at risk of permanent hearing loss, often unknowingly, by listening to music at loud intensity over long periods of time. Mitigating such risks through public health action is essential to addressing hearing loss.”
To reach as broad an audience as possible, HHF believes in the power of the “arts and music to reach hearts and minds.”
Please stay tuned for a new video launching on World Hearing Day March 3!
To learn more, see hhf.org/keeplistening and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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I wanted to create a story that not only celebrated the beauty of differences but also conveyed the importance of empathy and understanding. My heart was set on crafting a tale that could empower children with hearing loss while also educating their peers about the significance of inclusivity.