To estimate the global costs of hearing loss in 2019.
Prevalence-based costing model.
Hearing loss data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study. Additional non-hearing related health care costs, ...educational support, exclusion from the labour force in countries with full employment and societal costs posed by lost quality of life were determined. All costs were reported in 2019 purchasing power parity (PPP) adjusted international dollars.
Total global economic costs of hearing loss exceeded $981 billion. 47% of costs were related to quality of life losses, with 32% due to additional costs of poor health in people with hearing loss. 57% of costs were outside of high-income countries. 6.5% of costs were for children aged 0-14. In scenario analysis a 5% reduction in prevalence of hearing loss would reduce global costs by $49 billion.
This analysis highlights major economic consequences of not taking action to address hearing loss worldwide. Small reductions in prevalence and/or severity of hearing loss could avert substantial economic costs to society. These cost estimates can also be used to help in modelling the cost effectiveness of interventions to prevent/tackle hearing loss and strengthen the case for investment.
To address the growing prevalence of hearing loss, WHO has identified a compendium of key evidence-based ear and hearing care interventions to be included within countries’ universal health coverage ...packages. To assess the cost-effectiveness of these interventions and their budgetary effect for countries, we aimed to analyse the investment required to scale up services from baseline to recommended levels, and the return to society for every US$1 invested in the compendium.
We did a modelling study using the proposed set of WHO interventions (summarised under the acronym HEAR: hearing screening and intervention for newborn babies and infants, pre-school and school-age children, older adults, and adults at higher risk of hearing loss; ear disease prevention and management; access to technologies such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, or hearing assistive technologies; and rehabilitation service provision), which span the life course and include screening and management of hearing loss and related ear diseases, costs and benefits for the national population cohorts of 172 countries. The return on investment was analysed for the period between 2020 and 2030 using three scenarios: a business-as-usual scenario, a progress scenario with a scale-up to 50% of recommended coverage, and an ambitious scenario with scale-up to 90% of recommended coverage. Using data for hearing loss burden from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, a transition model with three states (general population, diagnosed, and those who have died) was developed to model the national populations in countries. For the return-on-investment analysis, the monetary value of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted in addition to productivity gains were compared against the investment required in each scenario.
Scaling up ear and hearing care interventions to 90% requires an overall global investment of US$238·8 billion over 10 years. Over a 10-year period, this investment promises substantial health gains with more than 130 million DALYs averted. These gains translate to a monetary value of more than US$1·3 trillion. In addition, investment in hearing care will result in productivity benefits of more than US$2 trillion at the global level by 2030. Together, these benefits correspond to a return of nearly US$15 for every US$1 invested.
This is the first-ever global investment case for integrating ear and hearing care interventions in countries’ universal health coverage services. The findings show the economic benefits of investing in this compendium and provide the basis for facilitating the increase of country's health budget for strengthening ear and hearing care services.
None.
The world report on hearing, 2021 Chadha, Shelly; Kamenov, Kaloyan; Cieza, Alarcos
Bulletin of the World Health Organization,
04/2021, Letnik:
99, Številka:
4
Journal Article
The World Health Organization (WHO) addresses ear diseases and hearing loss through its program on prevention of deafness and hearing loss. Recently, the World Health Assembly called for action at ...global and national levels to tackle the rising prevalence and adverse impact of unaddressed hearing loss. Following a public health approach toward this issue, WHO is focusing on i) raising awareness among policymakers and civil society; and ii) providing technical support to countries for promoting hearing care. Meeting this challenge requires a coordinated global effort with all stakeholders working together to make ear and hearing care accessible to all.
Recent prevalence estimates indicate that in 2015 almost half a billion people-about 6.8% of the world's population-had disabling hearing loss and that prevalence numbers will further increase. The ...World Health Organization (WHO) currently estimates that at least 34 million children under the age of 15 have disabling hearing loss. Based on a 2012 WHO report, approximately 7.5 million of these children were under the age of 5 years. This review article focuses on the importance of high-quality newborn and infant hearing screening (NIHS) programs as one strategy to ameliorate disabling hearing loss as a global health problem. Two WHO resolutions regarding the prevention of deafness and hearing loss have been adopted urging member states to implement screening programs for early identification of ear diseases and hearing loss in babies and young children. The effectiveness of these programs depends on factors such as governmental mandates and guidance; presence of a national committee with involvement of professionals, industries, and stakeholders; central oversight of hearing screening; clear definition of target parameters; presence of tracking systems with bi-directional data transfer from screening devices to screening centers; accessibility of pediatric audiological services and rehabilitation programs; using telemedicine where connectivity is available; and the opportunity for case discussions in professional excellence circles with boards of experts. There is a lack of such programs in middle- and low-income countries, but even in high-income countries there is potential for improvement. Facing the still growing burden of disabling hearing loss around the world, there is a need to invest in national, high-quality NIHS programs.
Summary Larynx is responsible for the generation of voice and subsequently impacts on communication, social interaction, personality, and artistic expression. The vocal instrument is comprised of the ...vibratory body, the respiratory power source, and the oropharyngeal resonating chamber. The lungs are the power supply, the larynx is the vibratory source, and the supraglottal vocal tract (supraglottal pharynx oral cavity, nasal cavity) is the resonator that shapes the sound into words and songs. During the phase of expiration as the diaphragm relaxes and the chest wall recoils, air is pushed through the nearly closed vocal folds. The aerodynamic forces of the air column and myoelastic properties of the vocal folds are responsible for the repeated opening and closing of the glottal tissue that pulses that air column as it flows out. These disruptions in the steady state of tracheal air pressure by glottal activity and vocal fold vibrations result in voice production. Voice is characterized by its frequency intensity and harmonics. The harmonics are hormonally dependent. This is illustrated by changes that occur during male and female puberty. The female voice evolves from childhood to menopause under the varied influences of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. These hormones are the dominant factor in determining voice changes throughout life. Female voice has a fundamental frequency one-third lower than that of a child. In males, androgen released at puberty is responsible for the male vocal frequency being an octave lower than that of a child. The females have a reproductive system, which undergoes a regular cyclic change known as the menstrual cycle. Laryngeal changes are evident and fluctuate systematically during the reproductive years with the menstrual cycle. The main objective of this experiment is to provide a solid ground with evidence of changes in voice because of sexual hormones, which will form the base of a multidisciplinary approach to a comprehensive and integrated understanding of premenstrual and menopausal female voice.
IntroductionThis study aimed to determine the prevalence of unsafe listening practices from exposure to personal listening devices (PLDs) and loud entertainment venues in individuals aged 12–34 ...years, and to estimate the number of young people who could be at risk of hearing loss from unsafe listening worldwide.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of unsafe listening practices from PLDs and loud entertainment venues. We searched three databases for peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2021 that reported unsafe listening practices in individuals aged 12–34 years. Pooled prevalence estimates (95% CI) of exposed populations were calculated using random effects models or ascertained from the systematic review. The number of young people who could be at risk of hearing loss worldwide was estimated from the estimated global population aged 12–34 years, and best estimates of exposure to unsafe listening ascertained from this review.ResultsThirty-three studies (corresponding to data from 35 records and 19 046 individuals) were included; 17 and 18 records focused on PLD use and loud entertainment venues, respectively. The pooled prevalence estimate of exposure to unsafe listening from PLDs was 23.81% (95% CI 18.99% to 29.42%). There was limited certainty (p>0.50) in our pooled prevalence estimate for loud entertainment venues. Thus, we fitted a model as a function of intensity thresholds and exposure duration to identify the prevalence estimate as 48.20%. The global estimated number of young people who could be at risk of hearing loss from exposure to unsafe listening practices ranged from 0.67 to 1.35 billion.ConclusionsUnsafe listening practices are highly prevalent worldwide and may place over 1 billion young people at risk of hearing loss. There is an urgent need to prioritise policy focused on safe listening. The World Health Organization provides comprehensive materials to aid in policy development and implementation.
There is substantial evidence that newborn hearing screening (NHS) reduces the negative sequelae of permanent childhood hearing loss (PCHL) if performed in programs that aim to screen all newborns in ...a region or nation (often referred to as Universal Newborn Hearing Screening or UNHS). The World Health Organization (WHO) has called in two resolutions for the implementation of such programs and for the collection of large-scale data. To assess the global status of NHS programs we surveyed individuals potentially involved with newborn and infant hearing screening (NIHS) in 196 countries/territories (in the following text referred to as countries). Replies were returned from 158 countries. The results indicated that 38% of the world's newborns and infants had no or minimal hearing screening and 33% screened at least 85% of the babies (hereafter referred to as UNHS). Hearing screening programs varied considerably in quality, data acquisition, and accessibility of services for children with PCHL. In this article, we summarize the main results of the survey in the context of several recent WHO publications, particularly the World Report on Hearing, which defined advances in the implementation of NHS programs in the Member States as one of three key indicators of worldwide progress in ear and hearing care (EHC).
Background There is little information on whether video gaming might be a modifiable risk factor for hearing loss and/or tinnitus, despite the plausibility of these relationships given that video ...games are often played at high-intensity sound levels and for long periods of time. Objective To synthesise current evidence related to relationships between gaming and the potential risk of hearing loss and/or tinnitus. Design Systematic scoping review Data sources We searched three databases (PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE) in January 2023 for peer-reviewed articles, and searched grey literature sources, from inception to 2023. Eligibility criteria Observational, mixed-methods, trials, or case studies published in (or that could be translated into) English, Spanish or Chinese were eligible for inclusion. Studies were included if they evaluated relationships of gaming with hearing loss and/or tinnitus. Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers extracted and verified study data, which are synthesised in tables and in the text. Results Fourteen peer-reviewed studies were included, 11 of which were cohort studies and 3 of which were non-cohort observational studies. Across studies, the prevalence of gaming ranged from 20% to 78%. In general, the average measured sound levels of video games nearly exceeded, or exceeded, permissible sound exposure limits, and on average, individuals played video games for approximately 3 hours per week. Among the five peer-reviewed studies that evaluated associations or correlations of gaming with hearing loss or tinnitus, four reported significant associations or correlations with gaming and hearing loss or tinnitus. Conclusions The limited available evidence suggests that gaming may be a common source of unsafe listening, which could place many individuals worldwide at risk of permanent hearing loss and/or tinnitus. Additional research on these relationships is needed along with steps to promote safe listening among gamers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.5 billion and 2.2 billion people have hearing and vision impairment, respectively. The burden of these non-communicable diseases is highest in ...low- and middle-income countries due to a lack of services and health professionals. The WHO has recommended universal health coverage and integrated service delivery to improve ear and eye care services. This scoping review describes the evidence for combined hearing and vision screening programs.
A keyword search of three electronic databases, namely Scopus, MEDLINE (PubMed), and Web of Science, was conducted, resulting in 219 results. After removing duplicates and screening based on eligibility criteria, data were extracted from 19 included studies. The Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer Manual and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyzes (PRISMA) Extension for Scoping Reviews were followed. A narrative synthesis was conducted.
Most studies (63.2%) were from high-income countries, with 31.6% from middle-income and 5.2% from low-income countries. The majority of studies (78.9%) involved children and the four studies reporting on adults all included adults above 50 years of age. Vision screening was most commonly performed with the "Tumbling E" and "Snellen Chart," while hearing was typically screened using pure tone audiometry. Studies reported referral rates as the most common outcome with sensitivity and specificity rates not reported in any included articles. Reported benefits of combined vision and hearing screenings included earlier detection of vision and hearing difficulties to support functioning and quality of life as well as resource sharing for reduced costs. Challenges to combined screening included ineffective follow-up systems, management of test equipment, and monitoring of screening personnel.
There is limited research evidence for combined hearing and vision screening programs. Although potential benefits are demonstrated, especially for mHealth-supported programs in communities, more feasibility and implementation research are required, particularly in low- and middle-income countries and across all age groups. Developing universal, standardized reporting guidelines for combined sensory screening programs is recommended to enhance the standardization and effectiveness of combined sensory screening programs.
PDF
