GENEVA – One in four of the world’s population will suffer from hearing problems by 2050, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday, calling for more investment in prevention and treatment.
The first ever global report on a hearing said it could prevent the causes of many of the problems – such as diseases, illnesses, birth defects, noise exposure and lifestyle choices.
The report recommended a package of measures, which they estimated would cost $ 1.33 per person per year.
In contrast, it set the figure of nearly $ 1 trillion lost each year due to the issue not being addressed properly.
“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.
One in five people in the world right now has hearing problems, he said.
But 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.
Of the 2.5 billion, 700 million in 2050 would be in poor enough condition to require some form of treatment, he said – up from 430 million in 2019.
Much of the expected increase is due to demographic and population trends, he said.
Poor access to treatment
A major contributor to hearing problems is the lack of access to care, which is particularly acute in low-income countries where there are far fewer professionals available to treat them.
With nearly 80% of people with hearing loss living in such countries, most people are not getting the help they need.
Even in richer countries with better facilities, access to care is often uneven, the report said.
And a lack of inaccurate information and the stigma surrounding ear infection and hearing loss also prevent people from getting the care they need.
“Even among health care providers, knowledge relevant to the prevention, early identification and management of hearing loss and ear infections is often lacking,” he said.
The report recommended a package of measures, ranging from public health initiatives from reducing noise in public places to increasing vaccines for diseases such as meningitis that can cause hearing loss.
He also recommended systematic screening to identify the problem at key points in people’s lives.
Among children, he said, hearing loss could be prevented in 60% of cases.
“Approximately 1 trillion U.S. dollars are lost each year due to our collective failure to properly address hearing loss,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the report.
“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.”