Nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide, or one in four people, may be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050, and at least 700 million of them will require access to ear and hearing care and other rehabilitation services unless action is taken, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday in a report.
The first World Report on Hearing by WHO, launched ahead of World Hearing Day on March 3, underlined the need to step up efforts to prevent and address hearing loss by investing and expanding access to ear and hearing care services.
According to the report, almost 60 percent of hearing loss in children 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, or inflammatory diseases of the middle ear.
While in 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, it said.
However, lack of accurate information and stigmatizing attitudes to ear diseases and hearing loss often limit people from accessing care for these conditions. WHO statistics showed that in most countries, ear and hearing care is still not integrated into national health systems and accessing care services is challenging for those with ear diseases and hearing loss.
But the most glaring gap in health system capacity is in human resources, the report said. Among low-income countries, for example, about 78 percent have fewer than one ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist per million population. This gap can be closed through integration of ear and hearing care into primary health care through strategies.
"Untreated hearing loss can have a devastating impact on people's ability to communicate, to study and to earn a living," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
- Global COVID-19 cases surpass 600 mln: WHO
- China’s vaccine regulatory system passes latest WHO assessment
- Monkeypox hits Europe, Americas hardest: WHO
- Pandemic far from over, WHO head warns
- WHO: Monkeypox presents moderate risk to global public health
- Monkeypox onward spread highly likely in future: WHO
Popular Videos
Hot comments
- First apes at U.S. zoo receive COVID-19 vaccine made for animals, zoo official says
- China Life: Chinese women shine with She Power
- Foreign firms approved to offer VPN services in capital
- Homemade curling videos trending in China
- 86-year-old grandma in Hebei spends most her life on traditional cheongsam
- Winners of 2022 Inaugural WLA Prize announced
- Lantern Festival: A romantic celebration in China
- Two Chinese COVID-19 vaccine firms to supply vaccines to COVAX
- Media center for 20th CPC national congress to open on Oct. 12
- Three economists share 2021 Nobel Prize in Economics
Top Reviews
- Young artists recreate beauty of traditional Hanfu costume
- China releases photos of tallest tree
- English version of ‘Understanding Xi Jinping’s Educational Philosophy’ published
- China crowned in men’s team for 10th straight time at table tennis worlds
- China publishes Atlas of Wildlife in SW China
- Guangxi’s 10 Years: A Visit to China’s Qinzhou Port
- Congress delegate helped lift village out of poverty
- Expo highlights joint efforts in NEV development
- Racism stain of shame on ‘world democratic paradise’
- U.S. may face new COVID wave this upcoming winter: report