2 March 2025, Cairo, Egypt – The theme of World Hearing Day 2025, marked annually on 3 March, builds on the previous year’s focus on changing mindsets towards ear and hearing care.
This year’s campaign aims to encourage individuals to recognize the importance of ear and hearing health and inspire them to change behaviour to protect their hearing from loud sounds and prevent hearing loss, check their hearing regularly, use hearing devices if needed, and support those living with hearing loss.
The World Health Organization (WHO) invite individuals of all ages to empower themselves to ensure healthy ears and hearing for themselves and others under the theme “Changing mindsets: empower yourself to make ear and hearing care a reality for all!” Empowered individuals can drive change within themselves and in society at large.
Almost 80% of persons with hearing impairment reside in low- to middle-income countries, and most of them lack access to necessary interventions. In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 78 million people live with hearing loss. Over 2 million children aged 0–15 years are affected by disabling hearing loss requiring rehabilitation. By 2050, 194 million people across the Region are projected to have problems with their hearing.
In many cases hearing loss is preventable through safe listening practices and regular hearing check-ups, but there is limited awareness about the importance of ear health. A cultural shift in attitudes towards ear and hearing care is needed.
World Hearing Day serves as a reminder of the global burden of hearing loss. By 2030, over 500 million people worldwide are expected to have disabling hearing loss requiring rehabilitation. A major contributing factor is prolonged exposure to loud sounds, especially among young people engaging in recreational activities such as listening to music through headphones and playing video games at high volumes. Currently, more than 1 billion young people are at risk of permanent hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.
On this World Hearing Day, WHO calls on individuals to take responsibility for their own hearing health by adopting simple steps to protect and preserve their hearing as part of their overall health and wellbeing. Recommended steps include:
Protect hearing from loud sounds
Avoid prolonged exposure to loud sounds during recreational pastimes such as listening to music and video gameplay and use ear protection in noisy environments.
Regular hearing checks
Early identification of hearing loss through regular hearing assessments can prevent further deterioration and improve outcomes.
Use hearing devices
If necessary, use hearing devices such as hearing aids to ensure optimal hearing health.
Support those with hearing loss
Individuals can play an active role in creating inclusive communities for people with hearing loss by fostering understanding and support.
Prevention is critical. But for those already living with hearing loss, timely identification and access to rehabilitation services helps ensure that people with hearing loss can reach their full potential.
WHO urges governments, health care providers and the public to support individuals with hearing loss by ensuring that rehabilitation services such as hearing aids, sign language and speech therapy are accessible to everyone who needs them.
In conjunction with World Hearing Day, WHO is launching 2 new initiatives aimed at promoting safe listening and better hearing health. The WHO-ITU Global standard for safe listening in video games and sports provides guidelines for reducing the risk of hearing loss associated with video gaming and sports activities, while the School module on smart listening, for inclusion into educational programmes, helps children and adolescents learn about the importance of safe listening and the steps they can take to protect their hearing throughout life.
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