World Hearing Day is on 3 March 2020.
This year’s theme is “Don’t let hearing loss limit you”. This theme highlights how timely and effective interventions can help people with hearing loss reach their full potential.
World Hearing Day coincides with Hearing Awareness Week in Australia (1 to 7 March).
Hearing loss in Australia
In Australia, almost 4 million people have some form of hearing loss. This continues to grow as our population ages.
The most common causes of hearing loss are:
- age-related
- excessive exposure to loud noise
Hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noise is preventable. The best interventions for hearing loss are early interventions, no matter how old you are.
If you or someone you know is worried about hearing loss, we encourage you to have your hearing checked.
The Healthdirect website provides more information on the signs of hearing loss and ways to help prevent hearing loss.
Hearing Services Program
The Australian Government is working to reduce hearing loss and the consequences of hearing loss in Australia.
The Government’s $581 million Hearing Services Program provides high quality hearing services and devices to some of our most vulnerable people.
In 2018-19, the program delivered services to over 785,000 clients, including:
- older Australians
- veterans
- young children
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- people living in rural and remote areas
The Australian Government has also committed $4 million in funding for up to 600,000 free online hearing tests for children. Parents of children aged between four and 17 can visit the Sound Scouts website
