World Hearing Day 2026 World Hearing Day 2026 (3 March) From communities to classrooms: hearing care for all children Act now so no child is left behind due to ear or hearing problems Why focus on children’s hearing? Globally, school-age children with hearing loss often remain undiagnosed and without access to needed services (World report on hearing, 2021)
World report on hearing - World Health Organization (WHO) The World report on Hearing aims to provide evidence-based guidance to drive actions for integration of quality EHC services into national health plans of Member States, as part of their work towards universal health coverage
Deafness and hearing loss: Safe listening The term safe listening simply refers to specific listening behaviours that do not put your hearing at risk The volume of sounds, the duration of listening, and frequency of exposure to loud sounds all have an impact on hearing The higher the level of sound and longer the duration, the greater the risk of hearing loss
Deafness and hearing loss - World Health Organization (WHO) Major causes of hearing loss include congenital or early onset childhood hearing loss, chronic middle ear infections, noise-induced hearing loss, age-related hearing loss, and ototoxic drugs that damage the inner ear The impacts of hearing loss are broad and can be profound
WHO highlights the importance of addressing childhood hearing loss On World Hearing Day, under the theme From communities to classrooms: hearing care for all children, WHO is urging governments, civil society, and partners across the health and education sectors to take urgent action to protect children’s hearing Key actions include:promoting good ear and hearing practices as part of school health programmes to prevent hearing loss; integrating ear and
Deafness and hearing loss - World Health Organization (WHO) A person is said to have hearing loss if they are not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing, meaning hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears It can be mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe or profound, and can affect one or both ears
Ear and hearing care - World Health Organization (WHO) Prevention of hearing loss and deafness is essential throughout the life course – from prenatal and perinatal periods to older age In children, nearly 60% of hearing loss is due to avoidable causes that can be prevented through implementation of public health measures, such as vaccination and maternal and neonatal care
New WHO and ITU standard aims to prevent hearing loss among gamers Ahead of World Hearing Day 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are highlighting the first global standard for safe listening in video gameplay and esport activities, which aims to reduce the risk of and prevent hearing loss among gamers
Call for proposals: Support for World Hearing Day small grants 2026- CLOSED For this purpose, WHO is working with regional offices to assess the country capacity for ear and hearing care in Member States and Each year, WHO organizes the World Hearing Day as a means of raising awareness on ear and hearing care and disseminating its materials and messages To such actions WHO runs a small grants competition program
World Hearing Day timeline - World Health Organization (WHO) 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