A woman rushes to cross a street because she is late for an appointment. On the street, a motorcycle rider is honking a horn to warn that his vehicle is running towards her. Sadly, the woman is hearing impaired. Since she can't hear, she is hit by the motorcycle.
Luckily, that was just a role play at a press conference organised recently at Chulalongkorn Hospital to mark World Hearing Day on March 3, sponsored by the World Health Organization to raise awareness on preventing deafness and hearing loss and to promote ear and hearing care. Activities for World Hearing Day Thailand 2019 will be held on Sunday at Lumpini Park.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHC), some 375,680 Thais had a hearing impairment identification card last year. The ministry however believed that 2.7 million people had reduced hearing abilities. When it comes to people with hearing loss in the country, the elderly comprises the biggest part of the pie with over 263,000 people above 60 reported to have hearing loss. As Thailand is on the verge of becoming a full-fledged aged society, the numbers of elders with hearing problems will be on the rise.
"The statistics showed that one in three elders who are older than 65 has hearing loss. But because hearing loss doesn't cause pain, the problem is overlooked. It is expected that in 2030, there will be 600 to 700 million people who have hearing impairment around the world," said Prof Dr Saowaros Patarapak, president of the Royal College of Otolaryngologist-Head and Neck Surgeons of Thailand (RCOT).
Many factors are responsible for hearing loss including ear infections, brain inflammation, serious head injury, loud noise, ageing or the extended use of medications that are toxic to the ears.
Next to the elderly, the working age population is the second largest group that has hearing problems. From MSDHC records in 2018, almost 990,000 people aged between 22 to 59 years old had hearing loss.
"People have had more hearing problems because at present, many hearing-related devices such as earphones as well as lots of noise pollution at factories, restaurants, concerts and night clubs are sabotaging our hearing ability," Saowaros said.
"Exposure to noise shouldn't be higher than 85 decibels and shouldn't be longer than eight hours. If you can't avoid staying in workplaces or venues that have loud noise, you should protect yourself by using proper earplugs."
Many people may expect that advance medical treatment can cure hearing problems. In fact, no medical treatment can correct hearing loss.
"The inner ear and middle ear are crucial parts for our hearing processes. If the inner ear is damaged, it is hard to recover and become functional normally. Advertisements that claim their medicines can treat ears to be correctly functioning are misleading," Dr Salyaveth Lekagul, founder of the Thai Rural Ear, Nose and Throat Foundation, warned.
This year, the theme of World Hearing Day is "Checking Your Hearing", which emphasises early identification and intervention for hearing loss -- starting with newborns. According to the National Association of the Deaf in Thailand, last year there were 1,173 children from newborns to five years old and 5,380 children from six to 14 years old with hearing impairments. Since hearing is an element for listening and speaking development, it is important to ensure that newborns and children don't encounter hearing problems. A hearing screening test is of great importance.
"Newborn hearing screening tests should be integrated with health checks. The earlier we discover a problem, the quicker we can treat hearing problems or provide hearing aids. Currently, more older women are getting pregnant. This puts newborns at risk of vision and hearing problems. Some children cannot hear things properly and their parents somehow misunderstand that they are ignoring the conversations," said Assoc Prof Dr Prasobsri Ungthavorn, vice-president of the Medical Council of Thailand (TMC).
She also advised parents and guardians to take notice of hearing development in their children.
"Newborns up to three months old become startled or cry when they hear loud noises. By three to six months, when parents talk to the babies, they react like they listen to them. By six to nine months, babies can turn their head if their parents call them. By nine to 12 months, babies can make long noises like a long dialogue. By 12 to 18 months, children can turn to sources of sounds accurately and can speak a word such as mum, dad and milk. If parents find the babies might have slow language development, they should take the little ones to see an otolaryngologist immediately, so they can receive proper treatment."
♦ Activities at the World Hearing Day Thailand 2019 include free hearing checks (from 8am to 11pm), free audiogram and two seminars on the topic "Importance Of Hearing And Prevention Of Hearing Loss" and "Effect Of Hearing Loss On Child Development" led by medical practitioners and representatives from the World Health Organization.
♦ There also will be an exhibition to provide knowledge about hearing and hearing loss.
♦ The event is organised by Chulalongkorn Hospital's Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Department, Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine, the Royal College of Otolaryngologists and the Ministry of Public Health.
