World Hearing Day 2022

WHO World Hearing Day 2022 – To hear for life, listen with care !

On World Hearing Day 2022, The World Health Organisation ( WHO ) will focus on the importance of safe listening as a means of maintaining good hearing across the life course. In 2021, WHO launched the World report on hearing that highlighted the increasing number of people living with and at risk of hearing loss. It highlighted noise control as one of the seven key  H.E.A.R.I.N.G. interventions and stressed the importance of mitigating exposure to loud sounds.

The Irish Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (ISHAA) estimates that one in 12 people in Ireland will acquire a permanent hearing loss in their lifetime. Be that an age related hearing loss - Presbycusis or a noise induced hearing loss due to loud noise exposure in the work place. 50 per cent of those over 75 say that they are experiencing some level of hearing loss. According to the Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (Tilda). In the same study it was discovered that only about 20 per cent of those who say they have some level of hearing difficulty actually wear hearing aids.

The World Hearing Day 2022 with the theme “To hear for life, listen with care” will focus on the importance and means of hearing loss prevention through safe listening, with the following key messages:

• It is possible to have good hearing across the life course through ear and hearing care​
• Many common causes of hearing loss can be prevented, including hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sounds​
• ‘Safe listening’ can mitigate the risk of hearing loss associated with recreational sound exposure​
• WHO calls upon governments, industry partners and civil society to raise awareness for and implement evidence-based standards that promote safe listening

Signs that you may have a hearing loss

1:  If you turn up the volume on the television, radio or computer louder than usual so you can hear what is being said. This is often noticed when others in your company may find the volume too loud.

2: If you have difficulty hearing the person you are speaking to on the phone. Or you have to ask the person to repeat what they have said.

3: If you find it difficult to follow a group conversation, particularly if you can’t see the speaker or there are a few people speaking in a group at the same time.#

4: If you struggle to hear people speak in noisy environments such as restaurants, coffee shops or bars.

5: In a work context, an unexplained decline in productivity or work done incorrectly by a staff member who is usually reliable, a sudden lack of confidence or depression can be caused by undiagnosed hearing loss.

If you have concerns about your hearing and would like to have your hearing assessed, contact one of our audiology partners in your area and book an appointment. See our Hearing Centres page for further information.