Globally, one out of twenty people has hearing loss which needs management. A World Health Organization (WHO) survey in 2013 revealed that only 30 countries (out of 76 respondents) have data on hearing loss. World Hearing Day (WHD), is celebrated on March 3 every year as a global advocacy event for raising awareness. As part of promotion activities, the World Hearing Forum (WHF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Coalition for Global Hearing Health (CGHH) give WHF-CGHH Small Grants (up to 800 USD) for World Hearing Day 2023. Every year WHO advocates and promotes countries to participate, under various themes.

World Hearing Day Themes

• 2015 - Make listening safe

• 2016 - Act now, here is now!

• 2017 - Make a sound investment

• 2018 - Hear the future

• 2019 - Check your hearing

• 2020 - Hearing for life

• 2021 - Hearing care for all

• 2022 - To hear for life, listen with care

• 2023 - Ear & hearing care for all! Let’s make it a reality

The Key messages for World Hearing Day, 2023:

• Integrating ear and hearing care within primary care, as an essential component of universal health coverage.

• 60% of hearing problems can be identified and addressed at the primary care level.

WHO offers promotional materials in various languages, awareness videos, an overview of planned events, and resource materials for WHD. WHO launched the " hearWHO" app- a mobile-based screening app for hearing loss, that can be used as a screening tool. The hear WHO app is based on validated digits-in-noise technology.

The "hearWHO" app is available in play store for download

IEC materials are available for promotion of World Hearing Day & also for Ear & Hearing Care

• Tips for Healthy Ears

• Tips for safe listening

• Tips for hearing aid users

• Flyer for Ear care

• Basic ear & Hearing care resources

• Care for discharging ears

• Flyer for checking hearing loss in adults

• Hearing & language milestones in children

To download IEC materials - Click here

Various resources and guidelines related to World Hearing Day

World report on Hearing

• Importance of hearing across life course

• Challenges faced and solutions for ear and hearing care

A manual for Ear and Hearing care, planning & monitoring of National Strategies

• Development and planning for Ear & Hearing care. Pre-planning phase, Planning phase, Monitoring and evaluation

Preferred profile for hearing aid technology suitable for low-& middle-income countries

• Hearing health services in these countries

• Types of hearing aid available in these countries

Integrated people-centred Ear & Hearing care

• Policy briefs with Vision - The H.E.A.R.I.N.G package for ear & hearing care interventions

• Target: Overall, 20% relative increase in effective coverage of ear & hearing care services by 2030.

Safe-listening-devices-and-system-WHO-ITU-standard

• Effect of noise on hearing

• Recommendations on safe listening.

Indicators for monitoring provision of services

• Health system indicators

• Service delivery indicators

• Health workforce indicators

• Medical products & health technology indicators

Situation Analysis Tool

• National level situation analysis plan

Handbook on how to implement msafe listening

• Safe listening devices and system

• Workplan development with promotion strategies of msafe listening programme

Hearing screening- Implementation guidelines

• Hearing screening in New-borns & infants

• School based ear & hearing screening

• Hearing screening in older people

World hearing day- Survey book

• Methodology to conduct a survey to find :-

  1. Prevalence of hearing loss in each area

  2. Overview of most common probable cause of hearing loss in the study area

WHO Global Standard for safe listening venues & events

• Sound level limit

• Sound system design

• Personal hearing protection

• Quiet zones

World Hearing Day report -2022

• Country wise report of activities on World Hearing Day

Download these resource materials - Click Here

Conclusion:-

Unaddressed hearing loss is the third largest cause of years lived with disability globally. Children, elderly people, people working in certain occupation are greatly affected. Appropriate screening, referral system and hearing care will help to curtail the problem. Health care professionals have to use efficiently the available resources by WHO to promote ear care at primary level, prevent hearing loss, and advocate for safe listening.

Reference:-

https://worldhearingday.org/