THE theme for this year’s World Hearing Day is Hearing care for all, which will be celebrated on Wednesday (3 March).
It is a global call for action to address hearing loss and ear diseases.
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This annual event is held under the bannner of the Office of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness of the World Health Organisation (WHO), with the objective of sharing information and promoting actions towards the prevention of hearing loss and improved hearing care.
The day was first commemorated in 2007, with WHO selecting a theme before developing educational materials, which are made freely available in several languages.
In South Africa, four million people suffer from this affliction, with more than five per cent of people globally affected.
In Africa, 90% of affected people do not have access to hearing-related care.
Hearing loss is an invisible epidemic, and for this reason World Hearing Day is observed annually to raise awareness of the prevention of deafness and hearing loss, and the promotion of ear and hearing care across the world.
In a lively and vibrant world, hearing loss can be very lonely and isolating, with a number of deaf individuals communicating through sign language and lip reading.
But with people wearing masks owing to Covid-19, this has made communication impossible.
People are asked to wear transparent masks so deaf people can continue communicating during these uncertain times.
So come out on Wednesday to celebrate World Hearing Day and help educate people on hearing loss.
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