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As printed in Hearing Health, volume 20:2,
Summer 2004
By Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D.
I am pleased to introduce Hearing Health’s special
coverage of global initiatives to bring better hearing
and improved lives to all people with hearing loss.
As you read the next several pages, I think you will
conclude that it is indeed timely and laudable to focus
on international efforts in hearing health.
You will learn about new approaches on a grand scale
and get a glimpse at health crises currently endangering
the hearing of large numbers of the world’s citizens.
You will also learn about the tenacity and determination
of groups and projects that serve deaf and hard-of-hearing
individuals in faraway places.
As Dr. Andrew Smith of the World Health Organization
informs in his piece on the emergence of a “grand
alliance,” adult-onset hearing loss is the second
most prevalent non-fatal disability contributing to
the global burden of disease. We can no longer let its
victims live in silence.
Research over the last decade has presented compelling
evidence of the negative social, psychological, cognitive
and health effects of hearing loss. In the work force,
uncorrected hearing loss often has a negative impact
on overall job effectiveness, promotion and
perhaps lifelong earning power.
Even a mild or moderate hearing loss without the assistance
of amplification may have a serious impact on a child’s
ability to learn and develop speech. Congenital deafness
left untreated can lead to a life where dreams and natural
abilities are not fully realized. This reality is clearly
described by Dr. Rajendra Desai in “Rubella Deafens
India” and starkly pictured in Charles Dittmeier’s
Cambodian journal.
Rapid growth of the elderly population poses a unique
challenge for treating hearing loss, particularly in
developing countries. The U.S. Bureau of Census-International
Program Center estimates that the over-65 population
will grow 71 percent worldwide between 2000 and 2020.
Since hearing loss is strongly associated with aging,
this astronomical increase means that worldwide numbers
of people needing hearing aids and related services
will skyrocket.
Adding to the potential vastness of the problem is
the current projection that the largest increases in
the senior population will be in developing nations
where access to hearing aids and related services is
limited at best. Examples include Africa at 79 percent,
Central America at 106 percent and the Middle East at
127 percent growth rates in the senior age group in
contrast to Western Europe at 32 percent and North America
at 57 percent.
Although few would disagree that uncorrected hearing
loss is a serious issue, in less-developed nations it
is perhaps tempting to minimize the importance of its
treatment. Individuals and families have other serious
issues, including securing food, shelter, clothing,
employment, adequate medical attention, disease prevention
and escape from the ravages of war. All the same, Dr.
Darlene Lubbe’s report of AIDS-related hearing
disorders helps us understand the importance of addressing
hearing loss, even when juxtaposed with a deadly plague.
Problems in securing the basic necessities of life
are indeed a severe burden. To the person with untreated
hearing loss, these difficulties are even more devastating
because the ability to communicate is impaired. Concern
about the unavailability of services, funding, even
adequate supplies of hearing aids and other technologies
fuels many of the international organizations profiled
in the pages ahead. Ultimately, their message is that
by joining forces today to foster creative solutions,
we can find ways to successfully treat many more people
with hearing loss in more parts of the world than ever
dreamed possible.
It is a message I strongly endorse. Let us together
bring the gift of hearing to all nations. n
Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D., is a widely
acclaimed researcher on hearing issues and executive
director of the Better Hearing Institute (BHI). He authored
MarkeTrak: The US Hearing Instrument Market and countless
articles and makes frequent speaking appearances. Readers
can contact him through the BHI website, www.betterhearing.org.
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