A consultation on the Make Listening Safe initiative was held at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 7-8 February 2018 with the objectives to:
- Review the progress made in different areas of the initiative
- Refine the proposed standards for safe listening devices
- Determine a dissemination strategy for the standards and safe listening messages
- Advance the development of an evidence-based research protocol for determining the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss in recreational settings
- Outline the process for development of a regulatory framework for the control of sound exposure in entertainment venues.
Participants included experts in the field of audiology, otology, public health, epidemiology, acoustics and sound engineering; representatives of ITU member organizations; and officials from standardization organizations, NGOs, professional bodies and consumer groups.
The key outcomes and next steps identified are as below:
- Global standards for personal audio devices which facilitate safe listening are expected to be finalized in 2018 and will be aligned with other standards in the field, as far as possible.
- The standards will contain a section with safe listening messages and other health communications. This will be revised based on the feedback received and included into the standards.
- Following their launch, efforts will be made to promote adoption of the standards by Member States and industry partners. The research protocol for determining the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss in recreational settings will be drafted and circulated to the expert group.
- A situation analysis on existing regulations regarding noise control in entertainment venues will be done by WHO.