Author: Philipp Skribanowitz, CEO, Mimi Hearing Technologies
With large parts of the world still in lockdown, World Hearing Day, taking place this Wednesday, will look a little different this year. But its purpose and message has never been so vital. The past year has completely shifted our day-to-day-lives, from how we work to how we consume content. And our hearing is under more strain than ever before.
In the 14 years since World Hearing Day was started by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about hearing loss, technology has evolved at lightning speed. We are constantly connected to our headphones, watching more TV and listening to more music than we were in 2007. But, we are not doing enough as a global population to take steps to protect our hearing health.
According to the WHO, 466 million people around the world suffer from disabling hearing loss. And, 1.1 billion young people aged 12 to 35 years old are at risk of hearing loss due to exposure to noise. But, on a more optimistic note, half of all cases of hearing loss can be prevented through public health and awareness measures.
And with that in mind, to celebrate World Hearing Day this year, the Mimi team will be delivering a week of informative and educational content that shines a light on our hearing health, as well as addressing the importance of inclusion in the technology that we all use on a daily basis. We also have some exciting news to share that will make hearing protection in technology even more accessible.
On Wednesday, we will be hosting our first ever panel discussion about how science and technology can come together to help grow hearing awareness amongst all generations, featuring leading experts from Johns Hopkins University, Everlisten, and Hearing Conservation UK.
In the coming weeks, we will also be sharing our annual World Hearing Index, which will showcase the state of the worlds hearing in 2021.
I hope you will find our first Hearing Week enjoyable, you can register for our panel here and can keep up to date with our latest content, by following us on LinkedIn.
