2023 - Awareness campaigns... and the lack of awareness
Who is listening on hearing matters? 2023 brought no shortage of campaign starts to promote hearing health awareness, but as usual there was a notable lack of data on what previous campaigns have achieved. Nightlife lovers in the UK may benefit from a serious effort to protect hearing in bars and clubs; the world's most engaged tinnitus charity has new energy; the public is targeted by manufacturers and the WHO.
Read on to see how Audiology Worldnews coverage captured hearing health awareness news in 2023.
Growing evidence of the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline was behind the team-up by the UK charity Alzheimer’s Research UK and the British Irish Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (BIHIMA) for a joint call for action on healthcare services to prioritise hearing health just as much as eye health.
Following her recent appointment as the new Managing Director of the charity Tinnitus UK (formerly British Tinnitus Association), Caroline Savage fielded dynamic and thoughtful answers in an interview with Audiology News UK editor-in-chief Peter Wix.
Battery giant RAYOVAC launched a Hearing Heroes campaign to coincide with the March 3 World Hearing Day, published a list of worldwide nominees.
Listen for Life – a campaign led by the UK’s Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), in partnership with Specsavers – got a House of Commons launch in the UK, and has support across the hospitality sector and elements of the music industry.”Our true aim is to work towards reducing hearing loss by 50% across our industry: more people being aware of the impact, more people testing, more people wearing protection,” insisted the NTIA’s CEO Michael Kill.
The European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA) launched a new public information portal on hearing loss – HearingYou.org. The new site features updated info on the latest research, scientific evidence, facts and figures on the prevalence of hearing loss, its economic impact and how hearing loss is linked to chronic diseases such as dementia.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Make Listening Safe campaign extended its reach to the UK with an official domestic launch on November 1, 2023. WHO Technical Lead (Hearing) Dr. Shelly Chadha said “We need to act to make prevention possible.”
Norwegian GPs were criticised for their lack of knowledge and awareness about tinnitus. SINTEF – Stiftelsen for industriell og teknisk forskning “The Foundation for Industrial and Technical Research” – highlighted a list of failings in tinnitus treatment in Norway.
Source: Audiology Worldnews and Audiology News UK articles 2023
