hearing health

Why is hearing important

Hearing loss may be inherited, or caused by maternal rubella or complications at birth, infectious diseases such as meningitis, chronic ear infections, use of ototoxic drugs, exposure to excessive noise or ageing.

Half of all cases of hearing loss are avoidable through primary prevention.

People with hearing loss can benefit from devices such as hearing aids, assistive listening devices and hearing implants, as well as from captioning, sign language, educational and social support.

World Health Organization (WHO) is assisting countries in developing programmes for primary ear and hearing care that are integrated into the primary health-care system of the countries.