On the eve of World Hearing Day (3 March), experts put forward a plan for a European Hearing Health Strategy to reduce the stigma associated with hearing loss, improve early detection and prevention, and address inequalities.
Professor Paul Van de Heyning, a leading researcher in cochlear implantation, inner-ear pathology and tinnitus; and Dr Patrick D’Haese, Corporate Director for Awareness and Public Affairs at MED-EL – a hearing aid device company – who is also active in public-health and academic work spoke on behalf of the Hearing Health Forum EU, a network bringing together industry, clinicians and patient organisations.
The speakers’ core message was blunt: hearing loss is rising fast, and societies are not prepared. Citing projections drawn from WHO reporting, they argued that disabling hearing loss will climb sharply in coming decades. Within the EU…
