World Hearing Day: Tips to protect your ears
An estimated 9.24 million South Africans suffer from some kind of hearing loss.
Photo: Unsplash/Mark Paton
947’s Drive With Thando team chats with Cassius Selala from the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.
Listen below:
World Hearing Day on 3 March raises awareness of the prevention of deafness and hearing loss.
It promotes ear and hearing care so that we can better protect our hearing.
The National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities estimates that over 9.24 million South Africans experience some kind of hearing loss.
Some of these people depend on sign language as their primary form of communication.
Selala encourages more South Africans to take an interest in South African Sign Language and learn more about it to help raise awareness.
“South Africa has 12 official languages, the twelfth being sign language… If we as South Africans can acknowledge their presence and the roles that they play in society by learning the language, we would actually make a difference.”
– Cassius Selala, Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities
While we are a loud society, listening to music, and movies, and participating in recreational activities, it is important to take care of your hearing.
Dr Romi Michal from HearCare Plus shares helpful tips for looking after our hearing:
- Children should undergo annual hearing testing from birth to the age of six
- Adults over the age of 55 should undergo annual hearing testing.
- If you use headphones and earphones, keep the volume below 60% of the maximum level, especially when listening for 60 minutes or more.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.