Today marks the beginning of World Hearing Day, a time to reflect upon the things that those of us with hearing loss go through each and every day. Despite being far more common than you might otherwise think, hearing loss is a condition that can have a serious impact on your day to day life and can be far more detrimental to a person’s wellbeing than you may know. Yet, for many, it remains a topic that few discuss – especially when it comes to people’s ability to work.
Let’s take a look at some little-known facts surrounding deafness and hearing loss.
- According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that up to 466 million people worldwide suffer from debilitating hearing loss. This is over 5% of the entire world’s population.
- By 2050, up to 2.5 billion are expected to have some form of hearing loss, with over 700 million people – one in ten – suffering from disabling hearing problems.
- More than 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.
- Hearing loss is a global class issue. Nearly 80% of people with disabling hearing loss live in low-to-middle income countries.
- It is also an age issue. For all of those above the age of 60, more than 25% are affected by disabling hearing loss.
- Hearing loss can be caused by a huge variety of different factors, including but not limited to:
- Genetic factors
- Intrauterine infections
- Lack of oxygen at birth
- Low birth weight
- Chronic ear infection
- Meningitis
- Smoking
- Otosclerosis
- Impacted earwax
- Head/Ear trauma
- Loud sounds
- Ototoxic medicines
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Viral infections
- Work-related ototoxic chemicals
For people in the work environment, it can have a massive impact on an individual’s ability to work safely and effectively. Many jobs are dependent upon one’s ability to hear, especially those that involve heavy machinery, moving vehicles and working animals. Key examples include jobs in construction, production and agriculture. Work in these fields has a particularly high-risk factor associated with hearing loss and individuals who partake in it should always have their hearing properly assessed in order to ensure maximum safety for themselves and others.
At Healthscreen UK, we have the means and experience required to make sure that neither you nor your colleagues put the rest of your workforce at risk. For a complete audiometry test, you can book here today to make sure that you don’t miss out.
