The report proposed a package of measures, which was estimated to cost $ 1.33 per person per year.
Geneva:
One in four of the world’s population will suffer from pain problems by 2050, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday, calling for extra investment in prevention and treatment.
The first global report on hearing is that the causes of many problems, such as infections, diseases, birth defects, exposure to noise and lifestyle choices, can be prevented.
The report proposed a package of measures, which was estimated to cost $ 1.33 per person per year.
In contrast, it represents the figure of nearly a trillion US dollars lost every year because the problem has not been properly addressed.
“Failure to act will be costly in terms of the health and well-being of those affected, and the financial losses resulting from the exclusion of communication, education and employment,” the report said.
There are currently one in five people worldwide with hearing problems.
But the report warned: ‘The number of people with hearing loss could increase more than 1.5 times over the next three decades’ to 2.5 billion people – compared to 1.6 billion in 2019.
Of the 2.5 billion, 700 million in 2050 would be in a serious condition to need some sort of treatment, it added – up from 430 million in 2019.
A large part of the expected increase is due to demographic and population trends, he added.
Poor access to treatment
A major contributor to hearing problems is the lack of access to care, which is particularly noticeable in low-income countries where there are far fewer professionals available to treat it.
Since nearly 80 percent of people with hearing loss live in such countries, most do not receive the help they need.
Even in richer countries with better facilities, access to care is often unequal, the report says.
And a 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, there is a lack of knowledge relevant to the prevention, early identification and management of hearing loss and ear diseases,” he noted.
The report proposed a package of measures, including public health initiatives from reducing noise in public spaces to increasing vaccinations for diseases such as meningitis that can cause hearing loss.
It also recommended systematic screening to identify the problem at important points in people’s lives.
According to children, hearing loss can be prevented in 60 percent of cases.
“It is estimated that one trillion US dollars are lost each year as a result of our failure to adequately address hearing loss,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the report.
“Although the financial burden is very large, the distress caused by the loss of communication, education and social interaction associated with hearing loss cannot be quantified.”
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated stream.)