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The International Hearing Society is using October’s National Protect Your Hearing Month to encourage hearing protection and annual hearing evaluations. The group cites World Health Organization projections that nearly 2.5 billion people will have some degree of hearing loss by 2050.
The International Hearing Society (IHS) is using October’s National Protect Your Hearing Month to encourage people to protect their hearing from excessive noise and arrange routine evaluations. The campaign comes as the World Health Organization projects that nearly 2.5 billion people will have some degree of hearing loss by 2050.
IHS says its public education effort focuses on noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and the potential value of identifying hearing changes early. The organization describes NIHL as largely preventable and recommends that people establish a hearing baseline with a qualified hearing healthcare provider. A baseline can give a clinician a point of comparison for future evaluations; IHS says it may help detect changes before they progress.
IHS president Michael Andreozzi, identified by the organization as BS, BC-HIS, recommends an annual evaluation. “Hearing is one of those senses that everybody needs to pay close attention to — no different than your eyes and vision. We suggest that people have their hearing evaluated once a year,” Andreozzi said in a release, as quoted by The Hearing Review.
The society is directing consumers to its provider locator at ihsinfo.org to find hearing aid specialists and other hearing healthcare professionals. IHS describes these professionals as providing hearing assessments, selecting and fitting hearing instruments, counseling patients and offering aftercare.
Why Routine Hearing Checks Matter
The campaign draws attention to hearing health as an issue that can affect people across the lifespan, while emphasizing noise exposure as a risk people may be able to reduce. Routine evaluations can provide an opportunity to discuss changes in hearing and protective steps with a qualified provider. IHS presents annual testing as its recommendation; the source does not establish that this interval is a universal clinical guideline.
The scale of the projected burden is another reason the society says public awareness matters. The WHO estimates that 1.5 billion people currently live with some level of hearing loss and projects that nearly 2.5 billion will do so by 2050. It also projects that more than 700 million people may need rehabilitation by then. These are global estimates, not figures limited to the United States or to noise-related hearing loss.
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October’s Hearing Protection Campaign
National Protect Your Hearing Month provides IHS with a recurring opportunity to share information about hearing protection and evaluations. The society says it works alongside the WHO to raise awareness of NIHL and ways to protect hearing. The report does not detail specific campaign events, advertising, or new services beyond the awareness effort and referral to the provider locator.
Founded in 1951, IHS is a membership association representing hearing healthcare professionals worldwide, including hearing aid specialists. The organization’s stated work includes hearing assessments and hearing-instrument services. Its annual-evaluation recommendation is presented as advice from the society’s president, rather than as a newly announced policy or a requirement for consumers.
““Hearing is one of those senses that everybody needs to pay close attention to — no different than your eyes and vision. We suggest that people have their hearing evaluated once a year.””
— Michael Andreozzi, IHS president, as quoted in a release
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Limits of the Annual Testing Advice
The report does not cite a specific clinical guideline supporting an annual evaluation for every person, nor does it describe how screening frequency should vary by age, symptoms, medical history or noise exposure. Readers should treat the yearly interval as IHS’s recommendation and ask a qualified healthcare professional what schedule suits their circumstances.
The WHO figures are projections about hearing loss overall; the source does not say how much of the forecast burden is attributable to noise. It also does not provide details about the campaign’s reach, planned activities or measurable outcomes. The source report does not identify the year of the October campaign, so its precise publication timing is not established here.
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Where Consumers Can Find Guidance
IHS is encouraging people to use its provider locator at ihsinfo.org to connect with hearing healthcare professionals and discuss an evaluation or hearing protection. The source does not announce a later campaign milestone or report new data expected after October. Any further information about events or resources would need to come from IHS or its participating providers.
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Key Questions
What is IHS asking people to do?
IHS is encouraging people to protect their hearing from excessive noise and arrange routine evaluations. Its president recommends an annual hearing evaluation; the report presents this as IHS advice, not a universal requirement.
What is noise-induced hearing loss?
Noise-induced hearing loss is hearing loss associated with exposure to loud noise. IHS describes it as largely preventable and is using the awareness month to promote hearing protection.
What does a hearing baseline do?
A baseline evaluation records a person’s hearing at a point in time. IHS says a qualified provider can compare later results with that baseline to identify changes.
How can someone find a hearing healthcare provider?
IHS directs consumers to its provider locator at ihsinfo.org, which is intended to help people find hearing aid specialists and other hearing healthcare professionals.
How large does the WHO project the global hearing-loss burden will become?
The WHO projects that nearly 2.5 billion people will have some degree of hearing loss by 2050, with more than 700 million needing rehabilitation. These are global projections cited by IHS.
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