Hearing loss: Nearly 2.5 billion people at risk by 2050

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Extract from the article: Considered as an inability to hear normally, hearing loss is a disease that affects more and more people worldwide. According to statistics shared by the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 2.5 billion people could be affected by 2050. These alar

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Considered as an inability to hear normally, hearing loss is a disease that affects more and more people worldwide. According to statistics shared by the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 2.5 billion people could be affected by 2050. These alarming figures are a wake-up call to the need to adopt good health and lifestyle habits, or risk facing the consequences of hearing loss, the most distressing of which is stigmatization.

Hearing is generally considered normal when intelligibility is 100% at an intensity of 20 dB. Thus, “when a person is not able to hear as well as a person with hearing of 20 dB or better in both ears”, we speak of hearing impairment, according to WHO. Nearly 2.5 billion people will be affected by hearing impairment by 2050, according to WHO estimates.

Hearing impairment comes in three forms - mild, moderate, severe or profound - and often affects one or both ears. Hearing-impaired people generally suffer from mild to severe hearing loss. Deaf people, on the other hand, suffer from profound hearing loss. They communicate using sign language.

Causes

Hearing loss affects people at certain key periods. During the prenatal period, genetic factors are involved, including congenital and non-congenital hearing loss, intra-uterine infections such as rubella, and cytomegalovirus infections. Perinatal causes include birth asphyxia, hyperbilirubinemia (severe jaundice during the neonatal period) and low birth weight. Other causes include chronic ear infections such as chronic suppurative otitis media, ear fluid effusion, chronic illnesses such as smoking, osclerosis, loud sounds or noises, nutritional deficiencies and ototoxic drugs.

Consequences

Hearing loss can have repercussions on the life of the person affected if left untreated.Communication consequences include social isolation, loneliness and stigmatization.In terms of education and employment, in developing countries, children with hearing impairment and deafness rarely attend school. Furthermore, adults with hearing loss are more likely to be unemployed, and when they do work, they often hold less skilled jobs than the rest of the working population.Untreated hearing loss is worth 980 billion USD.This figure includes costs to the healthcare sector (excluding hearing aids), educational support, lost productivity and society. In total, 57% of these costs are incurred in low- and middle-income countries.

However, hearing loss can be prevented.This means preventing the underlying causes of the disease in both children and adults.In older people, for example, it is important to avoid exposure to very loud sounds and the use of ototoxic drugs. It is also important to observe good mother and child care practices during vaccination, and to detect and treat common ear diseases.

Source : WHO