World Hearing Day through the years: Journey of advocacy
World Hearing Day is a pivotal advocacy event in raising awareness about hearing loss and promoting ear and hearing care worldwide. Each year, on March 3rd, the global community comes together to advocate for policies that support ear and hearing care. Join us as we explore the achievements of World Hearing Day over the years.
2007
World Hearing Day established
This was established and designated as the ‘International Ear Care Day’ through the Beijing Declaration. This was adopted during the ‘1st International Conference on Prevention and Rehabilitation of Hearing Impairment’ held in Beijing, China and jointly hosted by the China Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Deaf Children and WHO. The date 3.3 was selected as suitable , as the numbers are representative of the two ears.
Hear the World Foundation
2012
3 March was observed as International Day for Ear and Hearing care (IECD), the first event notice was posted on the WHO website.
WHO
2013
Theme: Healthy Hearing, Happy Life -Hearing Health Care for Ageing People
WHO release the updated data on hearing loss and also launched the new factsheet, factfile and FAQs. WHO produced the Report of International Ear Care Day with activities for countries highlighted. 7 countries reported 11 events.
Dr Aminu Bakari
2014
Theme: Ear care can avoid hearing loss
WHO launched the report on multi-country assessment of national capacity to provide hearing care at WHO HQ. Based on the theme WHO developed a media campaign through its website, social media and press briefing. A brief animation on ear care was also developed. First reporting format for IECD activities was used. 18 countries reported 25 events.
2015
Theme: Make Listening Safe
WHO released the estimates of adolescents and young adults who are at risk of developing hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices and launched the "Make Listening Safe" campaign. A planning template for activities on IECD were also made available for stakeholders. Over 20 countries and several international organizations reported IECD activities. 23 countries reported 54 events.
2016
Theme: Childhood hearing loss: act now; here is how
3 March was observed as "World Hearing Day"(WHD). A report on Childhood Hearing Loss: Act Now, Here’s How! was launched along with campaign materials in 6UN langauges. WHD activities were reported from countries, 12 International organizations and 12 organizations collaborated for the event held at WHO HQ. 35 countries reported 89 events.
2017
Theme: Action for hearing loss: make a sound investment
The theme drew attention to the economic impact of unaddressed hearing loss. A report on ‘Economic impact of unaddressed hearing loss and cost-effectiveness of interventions’ was released, highlighting that unaddressed hearing loss poses an annual cost of $750 billion annually. The logo of WHD was developed through a competition organized and conducted by the Ida Institute, in collaboration with WHO. Along with WHO HQ, the regional offices also obsereved WHD activities.
In 2017, World Hearing Day was also establsihed as a WHO-led health day through the WHA70.13 resolution. 57 countries reported 110 events.
2018
Theme: Hear the future
The focus was on the statistical projections that predict a rapid increase in the number of people with hearing loss. 76 countries reported 113 events.
2019
Theme: Check your Hearing
WHO launched hearWHO, the mobile application for hearing screening based on digits-in-noise technology. With the support and colloboration of partners, Wiki4WorldHearingDay2019 was created to facilitate the improvement ofWikipedia content related to hearing, hearing health services, hearing testing and preventive and treatment interventions.
WHD small grants scheme was launched and 20 organizations received the grant to observe WHD. 80 countries reported 298 events.
2020
Theme: Don’t let hearing loss limit you. Hearing for life!
The Basic ear and hearing care resource was launched along with information flyers. The hearWHO pro version for health workers was also launched. For WHD small grant scheme 153 applications were received, 20 organizations were awarded a grant of up to USD 800 to cover expenses related to activities to celebrate World Hearing Day. 107 countries reported 575 events.
2021
Theme: Hearing care for ALL! Screen, Rehabilitate, Communicate
Marked the launch of World report on hearing. WHO’s activities. Hearathon 2021 was observed, a 24-hour live event on Facebook for stakeholders, partners, and members to showcase their advocacy initiatives on the global platform. Events from 45 countries were showcased. Through WHO social media outreach 1.1 million people were reached globally. The announcement poster was made availble in 6 UN and 14 non UN languages. For small grant, 133 applications were received of which 52 organization from 29 countries were awarded. The World Hearing Forum, through its workstream on the World Hearing Day, supported the development of the WHD report of activities. 108 countries reported 684 events.
2022
Theme: To hear for life, listen with care!
Technical products related to the "Make listening safe" initiative were launched. It included Global standard for safe listening entertainment venues, mSafeListening handbook, and Media toolkit for journalists. The launch event was moderated by Ricky Kej and Lucy Kalantari, Grammy award-winning musicians. The WHD materials were made available in 22 languages. For the WHD small grants, 191 applications were received of which 49 organization from 27 countries were awarded. Through WHO social media, 4 million impressions were made globally. The World Hearing Forum launched the worldhearing.org website. 95 countries reported 497 events.
2023
Theme: Ear and hearing care for all! Let's make it a reality
The Primary ear and hearing care training manual along with community resources were launched. World Hearing Day campaign materials were available in 36 languages. WHO HQ and regional offices organized internal events for workforce in collaboration with staff health and well-being unit. 475 WHO workforce received hearing test. For the WHD small grants, 193 applications from 31 countries were received of which 21 organization were awarded. 108 countries reported 780 events.
2024
Theme: Changing mindsets: Let make ear and hearing care a reality for all!
Marked the launch of the Primary ear and hearing care training manual.
The campaign materials were made available in 42 languages.
38 Small Grants were awarded toorganizations from 23 countries across various regions. A total of 625 events were held worldwide, including 349 events with hearing screenings, 301 events with policymakers, 346 events engaging traditional media, and 578 events with a social media presence.
2025
Theme: Changing mindsets: Empower yourself to make make ear and hearing care a reality for all!
Building upon the previous year's theme, encouraging individuals to recognize the importance of ear and hearing health, this campaign aims to inspire them to change behaviour to protect their hearing.
