By Dr G Srinivas Reddy, ENT Surgeon,
World Hearing Day is held on 3 March each year to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world. This Year’s Theme is “Ear and hearing care for all! Let’s make it a reality”.
Hearing loss can affect anyone right from newborn to elderly population.
Most common causes in terms of frequency with which they manifest include diseases of middle ear, exposure to loud noises, medications used for other diseases. Less common are trauma and congenital causes.
Sound pollution in public places due to the high decibel horns in traffic / Use of regular voice prompts of electronic equipment at workspace / home and self-inflicted (earphones or headphones) leads to Noise Induced Hearing Loss which is ‘silent pandemic’.
Especially by the young generation for prolonged periods which will manifest hearing loss after few years of use.
Lifestyle changes like smoking, alcohol intake, high stress environment all contribute to hearing loss which is preventable.
Ringing sensation in ear, burning sensation, pain in ear after prolonged ear-phone use, are routinely encountered symptoms in these patients.
Prevention is better than cure. Avoid ear buds, loud music and noisy environment exposure. These precautions should be taken up by everyone.
Consult ENT specialist when you have an Ear complaint at the earliest.
