World Hearing Day is a campaign held each year by Office of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness of the World Health Organization (WHO). Activities take place across the globe and an event is hosted at the World Health Organization in Geneva annually on March 3. The campaign's objectives are to share information and promote actions towards the prevention of hearing loss and improved hearing care. Any individual or organization can participate in various ways, by sharing campaign materials and organizing outreach actions. Examples are provided in the World Hearing Day annual activities reports. For participation to be recognized, one needs to register and report on their activity.
The first event was held in 2015.[1] Before then it was known as International Ear Care Day.[2] Each year, the WHO selects a theme, develops educational materials, and makes these freely available in several languages. It also coordinates and reports on events around the globe, as a well a small grants program to facilitate participation.
2026
In 2026, World Hearing Day will highlight the theme "From communities to classroms: hearing care for all children." It aims to prompt activities designed to prevent avoidable childhood hearing loss and ensure early identification of and care for children with ear or hearing problems.[3]
World Hearing Day 2025
2025
For 2025, the theme of the campaign was "Empower yourself" encouraging individuals to take steps to ensure good hearing in all stages of life. This focus is a new angle of the theme of the 2024 World Hearing Day "Changing mindsets".[4]Wiki4WorldHearingDay2025 an edit-a-thon, was part of the 2024 activities of the campaign, to facilitate the contribution of hearing-related content into Wikipedia in several languages. A Wikimedia dashboard indicates the extent of the participation and reach of the content expanded.
2024
2024 World Hearing Day, "Changing mindsets"
The 2024 World Hearing Day campaign focused on overcoming challenges posed by societal misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets through awareness-raising and information-sharing targeted at the public and healthcare providers. The chosen theme for 2024 was "Changing mindsets: let's make ear and hearing care a reality for all!"[5]
WHO has emphasized that over 80% of people globally who require hearing care are not receiving it. This situation incurs an estimated cost of US$1 trillion related to unaddressed hearing loss.[6][5]
Wiki4WorldHearingDay2024 an edit-a-thon, was part of the 2024 activities of the campaign, to facilitate the contribution of hearing-related content into Wikipedia in several languages. Activities were reported in a Wikimedia dashboard.
2023
The theme for 2023 and subsequent years is "Ear and hearing care for all! Let's make it a reality".[7]
Wiki4WorldHearingDay2023 an edit-a-thon, was part of the 2023 activities of the campaign, to facilitate the contribution of hearing-related content into Wikipedia in several languages. Activities were reported in a Wikimedia dashboard[8] and in an article describing the different strategies used during the activity.[9]
2023 World Hearing Day, "Ear and hearing care for all!"
Key messages and information focused on the importance and means of preventing hearing loss from recreational sounds through safe listening. During World Hearing Day 2022 these resources were launched:
The theme of the campaign for 2021 was "Hearing Care for All." The launch of the World Report on Hearing (WRH) took place on March 3, 2021, during an event at the World Health Organization in Geneva. It was a global call for action to address hearing loss and ear diseases across the life course, and to expand health services to populations. Activities were summarized in the 2021 report.[11]
2020
Logo for Wiki4WorldHearingDay2019
The theme of the campaign for 2020 was "Hearing for Life. Don't let hearing loss limit you".[12] Materials developed of the 2020 campaign highlighted that timely and effective interventions can ensure that people with hearing loss are able to achieve their full potential.[13][14]
Previous years
2019: The theme of the campaign for 2019 was "Check your hearing" as data from both developed and developing countries indicate that a significant part of the burden associated with hearing loss comes from unaddressed hearing difficulties.[15][16]
A study conducted in the United Kingdom indicate that only 20% of those who have a hearing problem seek treatment.[17][18] A study performed in South Africa reported that individuals who experience hearing difficulties wait between 5 and 16 years to seek diagnosis and treatment.[19] Two hundred and ninety one events/activities from 81 countries were registered, and will be described in their annual report. For the celebration, on February 25, 2019, WHO launched hearWHO, a free application for mobile devices which allows people to check their hearing regularly and intervene early in case of hearing loss.[20] The app is targeted at those who are at risk of hearing loss or who already experience some of the symptoms related to hearing loss.[21]
2018: The theme of World Hearing Day 2018 was "Hear the future".[23][24]
2017: The theme of World Hearing Day 2017 was "Action for hearing loss: make a sound investment", which focused on the economic impact of hearing loss.[25][26]
2016: The theme of World Hearing Day 2016 was "Childhood hearing loss: act now, here is how!".[27]
2015: The theme for World Hearing Day was "Make Listening Safe".[28]
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