<h2><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Hearing loss is on the rise.</strong> According to the World Health Organization, levels of hearing loss have increased by 30% since the 1990s. </span></h2>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">If these levels continue to rise at their current pace, and if we do nothing, WHO predicts that by 2050 this increase will have doubled. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Our young people will be the most impacted. Today, 1 in 5 young people have a hearing loss globally. A further one billion young people are currently at risk of preventable hearing loss. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>The culprit? Our increasingly noisy lifestyles.</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Many young people are not aware they have done permanent damage to their hearing until it is too late. A major factor is increases in recreational noise, such as listening to devices through headphones or earbuds. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">To find out what was happening to young peoples&#8217; hearing in New Zealand, the National Foundation for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NFDHH) launched a pilot hearing screening programme in secondary schools across the country. Over the last two and a half years, NFDHH has screened the hearing of close to 3,000 students.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>What we have found is alarming.</strong> Levels of youth hearing loss are skyrocketing at an unprecedented rate. The most recent data indicates that up to 26% of young people receive an abnormal screening result. Furthermore, 62% of the students referred were diagnosed with moderate to severe hearing loss. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">While government-funded national screening provides hearing tests to newborns and preschoolers, the hearing screening NFDHH are undertaking in secondary schools shows a real need to provide hearing tests at more life stages. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Access to timely diagnosis, support and treatment are essential at all life stages and never is this truer than for 13–14 year-olds as they start their secondary school education. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Hearing loss isn’t always obvious to a parent or teacher. For many children, hearing loss can look like struggling to pay attention in class, a slower learning pace, or delayed speech development. For Sarah, mother to year 9 student Jayden, she had no idea that her son had a hearing loss.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>&#8220;I for one am so grateful for your programme. My son is in Year 9 this year and recently took part. We found out he has a loss of hearing in one ear (which we knew nothing about!). He has been to Triton and we are now waiting on a specialist for a possible hearing aid. Had your programme not have been happening we would have had no idea, he thought it was normal.&#8221; </em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">As part of their schools&#8217; programme, NFDHH provides information to children and families on how to Make Listening Safe, ensuring young people are educated about the risks and know how to look after their fragile hearing.</span></p>
<p><img class="size-medium wp-image-20128" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/NFDHH-2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>What can we do right now to protect our ears?</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some easy tips to keep your ears safe in the classroom and at home are:</span></p>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Watch the volume, keep your listening devices below half volume, (at 75 decibels and below).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Give your ears regular breaks.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Use hearing earplugs in noisy environments. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Never use one sound to mask another (ie listening on your headphones at max volume while vacuuming).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Be aware of the warning signs, such as ringing or sore ears or dulled hearing.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Help look after others&#8217; hearing by reminding them to turn their music down or protect their hearing in noisy environments.</span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>By Hellen Robinson, Digital and Communications Manager, National Foundation for Deaf &; Hard of Hearing</em></span></p>

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