Your Guide to World Hearing Day 2024: Changing Mindsets

3 March 2024 is World Hearing Day. This years’ theme is ‘Changing Mindsets’. With around 80% of ear and hearing care needs unmet¹, we believe World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was right to say that:

“Hearing loss has often been referred to as an ‘invisible disability’, not just because of the lack of visible symptoms but because it has long been stigmatised in communities and ignored by policymakers”.

World Hearing Day events in Australia

Nearly four million Australians² live with hearing loss; this is expected to grow to nine million by 2050. 
Local and global organisations are releasing information and planning events for 3 March to spotlight hearing health, reduce stigma, correct misperceptions and raise awareness about hearing and hearing health. In Australia, events to help change mindsets about deafness include:

• Sydney’s Macquarie University will host a program of ‘Changing Mindsets’ events to support World Hearing Day on Monday, 4 March.³
• Australian of the Year honouree Professor Kelvin Kong will present the Libby Harricks Memorial Oration at Parliament House in Canberra, where he will discuss hearing and how it shapes child development and indigenous communities.⁴
• Local events: check with your Hearing Care Professional, local council, library and other bodies for details. 
  

Play your part in World Hearing Day 2024

Regardless of whether you can attend an event for World Hearing Day, we encourage you to take it as inspiration to get better informed about your hearing. 
There is a lot we can do to protect this precious sense and minimise any effects of hearing loss due to ageing, disease, or external causes (such as industrial noise).
Information is key, so your first line of defence is to avail yourself of the facts. Take this opportunity to book an appointment at your local Connect Hearing clinic to learn more about your ears, your hearing and how to protect them both.

References:

1. World Health Organisation (n.d.) World Hearing Day 2024, World Health Organisation, accessed 20 February 2024. 

2. Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (n.d.) World Hearing Day and Hearing Awareness Week, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, accessed 20 February 2024. 

3. Macquarie University (n.d.) World Hearing Day 2024, Macquarie University, accessed 20 February 2024. 

4. Wold Hearing Day (n.d.) World Hearing Day 2024, World Hearing Day, accessed 20 February 2024.