World Hearing Day is observed on 3 March every year to raise awareness about this silent epidemic.
The 2021 World Report on Hearing (WRH) is a milestone initiative led by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World Hearing Forum.
In partnership with WHO, a group of South African stakeholders is leading several activities to observe this important event and raise awareness on hearing loss.
According to WHO statistics, approximately 10% of South Africans have a significant hearing loss, but only 2% seek medical intervention.
Hearing loss can affect anyone at any particular time in life. Age is not a factor with hearing conditions, and children may be born with hearing impairment which gets progressively worse over time.
Hearing loss is prevalent in people from the age of 55-years and over, but in some cases, a pre-existing medical condition may aggravate hearing loss.
Kaya Breakfast spoke to Professor De Wet Swanepoel, University of Pretoria, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Editor-in-chief



