World Hearing Day Date in the current year: March 3, 2024

The most common causes of hearing loss and deafness include genetic factors, intrauterine infections, perinatal problems (birth asphyxia, jaundice, etc.), various disorders ranging from auditory neuropathy to viral infections, aging, high noise levels, certain chemicals and medications, and physical trauma.

According to statistics provided by the World Health Organizations, over 430 million people in the world, or more than 5% of the world’s population, have disabling hearing loss (i.e. greater than 35 dB in the better hearing ear) and require rehabilitation. It is estimated that by 2050 their number will be over 700 million, or 10% of the world’s population.

Nearly 80% people with disabling hearing loss live in low- and middle-income countries, and their hearing care needs often remain unmet due to cost, distance, waiting times, and deeply ingrained social misperceptions and stigma associated with hearing loss. Unaddressed hearing loss may have a severe impact on many aspects of one’s life including communication and speech, cognition, social life, education and employment, etc.

The good news is, in many situations hearing loss is preventable through a combination of public health strategies and personal actions such as avoiding unsafe listening practices. This is why it is so important to raise awareness of hearing loss, its causes and consequences. Awareness campaigns bring together stakeholders for the development of hearing loss prevention, identification, management and rehabilitation strategies, as well as encourage individuals to take their hearing seriously.

World Hearing Day was established as International Ear Care Day at the First International Conference on Prevention and Rehabilitation of Hearing Impairment, which was held in Beijing in 2007. It was decided to celebrate the observance on March 3 because this date (3.3) resembles two ears. In 2015, International Ear Care Day was renamed World Hearing Day.

Every year, the WHO chooses a specific theme for World Hearing Day to highlight a certain aspect of hearing loss prevention and hearing care. Past themes have included “Make listening safe”, “Act now, here is now!”, “Make a sound investment”, “Hear the future”, “Check your hearing”, “Hearing for life”, “Hearing care for all”, “To hear for life, listen with care”, “Ear and hearing care for all! Let’s make it a reality”, “Changing mindsets: Let’s make ear and hearing care a reality for all!”

There are many ways to get involved with World Hearing Day. You can look up events near you and participate in one, organize an event of your own, learn more about ear care and hearing loss prevention and share the information you’ve learned with others, donate to organization that supports people affected by hearing loss, and spread the word on social media using the hashtag #WorldHearingDay.