EuroTrak survey data informs new global public information portal on hearing health
A new public information portal - HearingYou.org - has been launched to boost awareness of the importance of hearing health as a public health issue.
Behind the venture is the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA), which has placed a data hub as the centrepiece of the new site, featuring updated info on the latest research, scientific evidence, facts and figures on the prevalence of hearing loss, its economic impact and how hearing loss is linked to chronic diseases such as dementia.
And the evidence base for HearingYou.org is data from the collection of EHIMA’s internationally standardised EuroTrak surveys, which measure self-reported hearing loss and use of professional hearing care in major European and Asia-Pacific countries. This, says EHIMA, allows HearingYou.org to act as an evidence hub for policy makers to help them design effective hearing care policies.
“The age structure of many societies is changing rapidly. Hearing health is destined to become a defining feature of future-proof policies. Only what is measured can be managed, and HearingYou.org provides easy-to-find information for well-informed public policy,” says EHIMA Secretary General Dr. Stefan Zimmer. “This would enable hearing impaired people to lead empowered and mobile lives,” he adds.
The new website includes information from EHIMA and its hearing care partners, such as the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH), the European Association of Hearing Aid Professionals (AEA), the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH), the European Association of Cochlear Implant Users (Euro-CIU), and other international and national associations and groups active in the field of hearing care.
Source: EHIMA