Recently, Moradabad city of India was declared as the second most noise polluted city in the world in the Annual Frontier Report – 2022 released by United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Now another shocking revelation has been made in the UN report. That is, the number of hearing loss due to noise pollution in India is increasing continuously. According to the report, there is a population of 63 million in India, who is suffering from the problem of hearing loss.
India’s youth are rapidly losing hearing
The World Health Organization said that physical and mental well-being are being negatively affected by noise pollution factors such as road traffic, air traffic, railways, machinery, industry and listening to music. Especially because of these activities, the youth of India are losing their hearing ability fast.
If this is the case, then by 2030 the number of hearing impaired people in India will more than double i.e. more than 130 million. The report also states that only two out of 10 people in India get treatment for this problem and wear hearing aids.
Hearing loss of one billion people around the world
Prolonged exposure to high noise from music and other forms of entertainment poses a risk to the hearing loss of nearly one billion people aged 12 to 35 worldwide, the report said.
Around one and a half billion people around the world live a life with low hearing loss. According to the latest estimates, this number could reach more than two billion by the year 2030.
Growing problem with unsafe equipment
According to Dr. Bente Mickelson, director of the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases of the World Health Organization, millions of adolescents and youth are harming their hearing due to the use of unsafe personal equipment and loud noises in night clubs, concerts.
This risk is further increased when many audio equipment, venues or functions do not provide safe listening options, he said.
Appeal to raise awareness about the risks
The health agency of the United Nations has called on governments of all countries to support the new global standards, to protect hearing and increase awareness about the risks of harming hearing. Along with this, a request has been made to implement the law for this.
Take these measures to protect hearing
– The sound level of personal audio equipment has to be kept low.
Suitable quality headphones or earphones must be used.
Wearing plugs in your ears in noisy places should avoid noise.
Hearing ability should be continuously checked.