Ear infections the number one cause of hearing loss globally
Ear infections and vaccine preventable infectious diseases are considered the number one causes of hearing loss, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) media release in time for International Ear Care Day.
Image/CIA
According to the UN health agency, more than 360 million people in the world have disabling hearing loss according to new global estimates on prevalence. A third of those are in people over the age of 65 years. Approximately nine percent of that total, or 32 million affected by hearing loss are children under age of 15.
According to the WHO, infections of the ear are the leading cause of the disability, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Prevalence of disabling hearing loss is highest in South Asia, Asia Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa
Vaccine preventable infectious diseases such as rubella, meningitis, measles, mumps can lead to hearing loss.
WHO encourages countries to develop programmes for preventing hearing loss within their primary health care systems including vaccinating children against measles, meningitis, mumps and rubella, screening and treating syphilis in pregnant women, and early assessment and management of hearing loss in babies.
More about International Ear Care Day
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