"Just as we do for hypertension and other diseases, let's prioritise our ear health, which is critical for our survival, "Ms Abiba Sumaila, the Head of Audiology, UGMC, has said.
She gave the advice at the launch of the 2025 World Hearing Day (WHD) on Wednesday, organised in collaboration with the West Africa Centre of Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) in Accra.

The World Hearing Day, celebrated annually on March 3, seeks to educate the public and create awareness on the need to prevent hearing impairment by promoting regular screening and frequent hearing care.

The week-long celebration, preceded by ear screening at Jamestown, was on the themed: "Changing Mindset: Empower Yourself to Make Ear and Hearing Impairment a Reality for All".
Hearing loss, or deafness, refers to a partial or complete inability to hear sounds in one or both ears.

Research by the World Health Organisation indicates that worldwide, 1.5 million people have hearing loss, while 430 million have disabling hearing loss in low and middle-income countries requiring rehabilitation.

It said by 2030, more than 500 million people were expected to have disabling hearing los, which required rehabilitation.

More than one million young people are expected to face the risk of permanent hearing loss due to prolonged exposure to loud sounds during recreational pastimes such as listening to music and video gameplay.

Ms Sumaila said hearing impairment could happen anytime in life, before birth to adulthood; thus, it was important for individuals of all ages to empower themselves and others to ensure healthy ears.

She encouraged people to engage in safe listening, position themselves away from the speaker at events, and request earplugs at concerts to help reduce the number of sound going into the ear.
They must also keep the volume of their devices at least 60 percent maximum, take breaks after using headsets for long hours as constant exposure to noise could affect the ear.

She urged the public to be advocates of hearing loss and sympathise with people with the condition and not stigmatise them.

Dr Eunice Rabiatu Abdulai, Head of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Ghana Health Service, said 60 per cent of hearing impairment could be prevented through timely public health interventions as the condition could either be congenital or acquired.

However, consequences of unaddressed hearing impairment, among other things, could include poor cognitive and speech problems and affect education.

Dr Abdulai said to decrease hearing loss, there was the need for good maternal and child care practices, identification and management of common ear conditions, avoiding loud noise, headphones and ototoxic drugs.

She called on the government to integrate hearing care in teaching institutions as well as primary health institutions, and extend hearing assessment and speech therapy services to deprived areas.

It must also integrate newborn hearing screening into maternal and newborn health, and exempt tax on hearing aids. She appealed for the enforcement of policy to prevent loud noise in certain places to reduce cases of noise-induced hearing loss.