World Hearing Day 2021 | Singapore General Hospital

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WHO World Hearing Day 2021: to screen, rehabilitate and communicate across the life course.

Goals of World Hearing Day 2021:

To launch the World Report on Hearing globally and stimulate policy action for ear and hearing care in countries through implementation of its recommendations.
To raise awareness on ear and hearing care at community level, across the world.

The key messages are:

Good hearing and communication are important at all stages of life.
Hearing loss (and related ear diseases) can be avoided through preventative actions such as: protection against loud sounds; good ear care practices and immunization.
Hearing loss (and related ear diseases) can be addressed when it is identified in a timely manner and appropriate care sought.
People at risk of hearing loss should check their hearing regularly.
People having hearing loss (or related ear diseases) should seek care from a health care provider.

What we are doing in SGH

For 20 years, Hearing Centre has journeyed with individuals with hearing loss from the very young to the very old to help them listen, communicate and integrate into mainstream society.

SGH started a pilot Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) in late 1998 leading to wider screening of newborns in Singapore in 2002. Concurrently, early intervention service for children with hearing loss, including paediatric audiology and auditory-verbal therapy were available from 2001. Babies as young as one month of age can have their hearing tested, which allows children diagnosed with hearing loss to be fitted with hearing devices as soon as possible. With better access to sounds, they can develop their speech and language skills like normal hearing children.

To provide better access to audiology services in the community, the SGH Hearing Centre has set up a satellite audiology clinic in 2021 at the Tiong Bahru Community Health Centre (TBCHC).The TBCHC satellite clinic offers comprehensive level 2 screening for seniors who have abnormal results from their level 1 screening. Hearing aid services are also available to those diagnosed with hearing loss and require amplification devices.

The Hearing Centre also works closely with the Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) Centre which provides diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of ENT disorders, as well as diseases affecting the head and neck.

What you can do

Follow good ear and hearing practices such as:

protecting your ears from loud sounds;
never inserting anything into your ear or instill any liquids, other than medicines prescribed by a trained health care personnel;
in case of pain in the ear or ear-discharge, seeking medical treatment urgently;
eating healthy food and exercising well to avoid diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, that predispose to development of hearing loss;
and avoiding cigarette smoking.

Practice safe listening:

Keep the volume down, by staying within the 80 dB limit as far as possible for no longer than 40 hours per week.
Wear earplugs when visiting discotheques, bars, arenas hosting sporting events and concerts other noisy places.
Use noise-cancelling earphones/headphones, as these can reduce the need to raise the volume when you are in a noisy environment, such as when travelling on a train or bus.
Limit the daily use of your personal audio devices.
Limit time spent engaged in activities in noisy places:

take short listening breaks (go to a quiet place or corner and allow your ears to rest)
move away from loud sounds by keeping a distance between yourself and the sound source such as speakers
reduce your frequency of visiting noisy places, if possible.

Get regular hearing check-ups.

Have your hearing tested:
Early detection of hearing loss is crucial for its effective rehabilitation. In order to ensure that hearing loss is noticed as early as possible, all people should check their hearing from time to time, especially those who are at a higher risk of hearing loss. They include people who often listen to loud music, work in noisy places, use medicines that are harmful to hearing, or who are above 60 years old.

In order to facilitate hearing checks, WHO has developed a mobile and web-based software application for hearing screening.

Read more about World Hearing Day 2021 (link requires Internet access): https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hearing-day/2021

References and resources:
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hearing-day/2021
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss-age-related-hearing-loss-(presbycusis)
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss-safe-listening
https://www.who.int/health-topics/hearing-loss/hearwho