March 3 is observed as World Hearing Day every year, as declared by the World Health Organisation or WHO. This year, the organisation will be focusing on the importance of safe listening as a means to maintain good hearing across the life course. The theme for World Hearing Day 2022 is ‘To hear for life, listen with care.’ It focuses on the importance and means of hearing loss prevention through safe listening.
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Decision-makers, venue managers and owners of entertainment venues along with the general public are amongst the many target groups. The WHO also calls upon governments, industry partners and civil society to raise awareness and promote safe listening. No matter how old you are, here are a few preventive measures to follow to prevent deafness.
Preventive Measures of Deafness:
1. Immunise girls and women during a child bearing age to prevent them from Rubella, which can cause sensorineural hearing loss.
2. Keep ears clean, free from dust, water and wax. Do not scratch ears with pointed objects like matchsticks, pencils hairpins as they may injure the ear canal.
3. Protect yourself from being hit near the ear as it may cause a hearing problem that is irreversible.
4. Do not pour oil or any other liquid inside the ear to clean it without a doctor’s prescription. If you experience swelling or ear discharge visit the doctor.
5. Do not go swimming in unclean water as it may cause an ear infection. Plug in cotton in your ears while swimming and especially diving.
6. Do not get your ear cleaned by people on the roadside since they use unhygienic instruments which may cause infection and lead to damage. Use cotton buds to clean the ear or visit a doctor.
7. Avoid visiting loud places as they may cause serious damage to your ear.
8. If you’re working in loud noisy places, use ear protectors or earplugs.
