As the world is currently battling the pandemic pandemic, which has claimed millions of lives, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of another potential threat. soon.
A report by the WHO suggests that by 2050 one in four people in the world will have a hearing impairment.
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The first ever global report on hearing aids precludes the causes of many of these problems, such as diseases, illnesses, birth defects, noise exposure, and lifestyle choices.
WHO has called for immediate and additional investment in prevention and treatment. According to the package of measures recommended in the WHO report, it would cost $ 1.33 per person per year.
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“There will be a costly cost to the health and wellbeing of those affected, and the financial losses that will result from being excluded from communications, education and employment,” the report said.
While one in five currently suffers from hearing problems, the number could soon rise to 2.5 billion, the report warned.
“The number of people with hearing loss could increase by more than 1.5-fold in the next three decades” to 2.5 billion people, up from 1.6 billion in 2019.
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Of those 2.5 billion, nearly 700 million people would suffer from severe hearing problems by 2050. The 700 million people may even need major treatment for the hearing condition, which would be a huge increase from 430 million people in 2019.
One of the main reasons behind this alarming increase is demographic and population trends, the report explained.
This issue has also been on the rise due to lack of access to care, especially in low-income countries – with nearly 80 per cent of people living in those countries – because most of them are not getting the help they need.
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Lack of inaccurate information and growing stigma surrounding ear infections and hearing loss are also contributing to the number of people suffering from hearing problems.
“Even among health care providers, knowledge relevant to the prevention, early diagnosis and management of hearing loss and ear infections is generally lacking,” the report said.
The package of measures recommended by the WHO includes public health initiatives such as noise reduction in public places and an increase in vaccines for diseases that can cause hearing loss. He also recommended systematic screening to identify the problem.
“It is estimated that one trillion US dollars is lost each year due to our collective failure to properly address hearing loss,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “While the financial burden is enormous, what cannot be quantified is the distress caused by loss of communication, education and social interaction that accompanies unconscious hearing loss.”