The report proposed a package of measures, which he estimated would cost $ 1.33 per person per year.
Geneva:
One in four of the world’s population will suffer from hearing problems in 2050, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday, calling for additional investment in prevention and treatment.
The first global hearing report said the causes of many of the problems, such as infections, illness, birth defects, noise exposure, and lifestyle choices, could be prevented.
The report proposed a package of measures, which he estimated would cost $ 1.33 per person per year.
Against this, he set the figure of nearly one trillion US dollars lost each year because the problem was not being treated properly.
“Lack of action will cost in terms of the health and well-being of those affected and the economic losses resulting from their exclusion from communication, education and employment,” the report states.
One in five people worldwide has hearing problems currently, he said.
But the report warned: “The number of people with hearing loss may increase more than 1.5 times over the next three decades” to 2.5 billion people, to 1.6 billion in 2019.
Of the 2.5 billion, 700 million would have a state serious enough in 2050 to require some kind of treatment, added the 430 million of 2019.
He added that much of the expected increase is due to demographic and demographic trends.
Poor access to treatment
One of the main contributors to hearing problems is the lack of access to care, which is especially striking in low-income countries where there are far fewer professionals available to treat them.
Because almost 80% of people with hearing loss live in these countries, most do not receive the help they need.
Even in richer, better-off countries, access to care is often uneven, according to the report.
And the lack of accurate information and the stigma surrounding ear diseases and hearing loss also prevent people from getting the care they need.
“Even among healthcare providers, knowledge relevant to the prevention, early identification, and management of hearing loss and ear diseases is often lacking,” he noted.
The report proposed a package of measures, including public health initiatives, from reducing noise in public spaces to increasing vaccinations against diseases such as meningitis that can cause hearing loss.
Systematic screening is also recommended to identify the problem at key points in people’s lives.
Among children, he said, hearing loss could be prevented in 60 percent of cases.
“It is estimated that one trillion US dollars are lost each year due to our collective failure to properly address hearing loss,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the report.
“While the financial burden is enormous, what cannot be quantified is the distress caused by the loss of communication, education, and social interaction that accompanies hearing loss without addressing it.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)