Celebrating World Hearing Day 2025: Changing Mindset
Posted on: April 7, 2025
On March 4, 2025, the University of Ghana Medical Centre Ltd. (UGMC), in collaboration with the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), hosted a seminar at the Centre’s premises. The event aimed to raise awareness about hearing loss, its prevention, and the importance of early intervention.
Dr. Eunice Rabiatu Abdullai from the Ghana Health Service opened the seminar with a gripping address on the alarming rise of hearing loss worldwide. She emphasized that while hearing loss is a growing concern, many cases are preventable. This year’s theme for the celebrations, "Changing Mindsets: Empowering Yourself to Make Ear and Hearing Care a Reality for All!", underscored the important role that behavioral change plays in promoting healthy ear and hearing care practices.
Dr. Abdullai revealed the staggering statistic that globally, 1.5 billion people experience some form of hearing loss, with 430 million suffering from disabling conditions related to ear health. She added that most of these cases occur in low- and middle-income countries due to the lack of access to essential hearing care services. According to Dr. Abdullai, hearing loss can lead to serious consequences, including poor cognitive development and speech and communication difficulties if left unaddressed.
Celebrating World Hearing Day 2025. Image 3 She stressed the need for collective action, targeting key groups such as children and adolescents, gaming enthusiasts, music lovers, parents and teachers, older adults, health workers, and policymakers.
With regard to the causes of hearing loss, Dr. Abdullai explained that it could be either congenital or acquired due to infections, trauma, tumors, or systemic conditions. To combat hearing loss, she emphasized that early diagnosis, along with a combination of medical, surgical, and rehabilitative therapies, is critical in managing hearing challenges. Dr. Abdullai shared effective strategies for prevention, including immunization against infections that can cause hearing loss like measles and mumps, proper maternal and childcare practices, genetic counseling for families with a history of hearing impairments, avoiding loud noise and prolonged use of headphones, early identification and management of ear infections, and steering clear of ototoxic (ear-damaging) medications.
Following Dr. Abdullai’s presentation, Miss Habiba Abdul-Aziz, an Audiologist at UGMC, took the stage to elaborate further on the theme "Changing Mindsets: Empower Yourself to Make Ear and Hearing Care a Reality for All." She urged attendees to prioritize their hearing health, combat the stigma surrounding hearing loss, and embrace technological solutions for improved accessibility. She further encouraged the audience to become advocates for change and not to wait until March 3 every year to challenge the stigma around hearing loss.
The event was a powerful reminder that hearing health is not just an individual responsibility but a collective effort that requires education, advocacy, and proactive interventions.
