3 March 2026 – World Hearing Day once again provides a global platform to raise awareness of hearing health and its importance across the life course
World Hearing Day is marked annually to promote the prevention of hearing loss and to encourage timely access to ear and hearing care worldwide. Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) develops evidence-based advocacy materials — including brochures, posters, infographics, and digital tools — to support governments, professionals, and stakeholders in raising awareness and driving action. This year, WHO has chosen a theme focusing on children, underlining that protecting hearing from the earliest years is essential for lifelong health, development, and participation.
EHIMA (European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association) welcomes and supports the 2026 World Hearing Day campaign. In parallel with WHO’s child-centered focus, EHIMA is highlighting how hearing health remains equally vital later in life, supporting healthy ageing and social participation. Together, these perspectives reinforce a shared message: hearing health matters at every stage of life.
“Sounds like Life. Hearing connects us all.”
EHIMA’s 2026 awareness campaign, “Sounds like Life. Hearing connects us all!”, complements World Hearing Day by emphasising continuity – from childhood hearing protection and early intervention to maintaining hearing health in adulthood and older age. By extending the conversation beyond early life alone, EHIMA helps underline that investments in hearing health deliver lifelong benefits for individuals and society.
Hearing health, participation, and quality of life
Hearing is fundamental to communication, learning, and social interaction. When hearing loss goes unaddressed, it can gradually limit a person’s ability to participate fully in daily life. Increased listening effort and communication barriers often lead to fatigue, reduced confidence, and social withdrawal.
Evidence from across Europe highlights the wider societal impact. Research from the University of London shows that only 64% of working-age adults with hearing loss are employed, compared with 77% of the general population. Even when in work, people with hearing loss are more likely to be employed in lower-paid positions. These findings illustrate how unaddressed hearing loss can affect participation and opportunity long before older age.
Access to appropriate hearing care can make a tangible difference. EuroTrak surveys conducted across Europe indicate that around 90% of hearing aid users report significant improvements in daily life, including better communication at home, on the phone, and in social situations. Many also report feeling safer and more confident in public spaces. Importantly, more than 60% say they wish they had addressed their hearing loss earlier – highlighting the personal and social costs of delayed intervention.
Hearing health, cognition, and healthy ageing
Healthy ageing is increasingly understood not only as living longer, but as maintaining functional abilities and independence for as long as possible. Hearing health plays a critical role in this context.
Hearing loss is now recognised as the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia, associated with an estimated 7% of cases globally (The Lancet, 2024). Growing evidence shows that hearing care can help mitigate this risk. Studies suggest that hearing aid use can slow cognitive decline by nearly 48% in high-risk individuals, and that long-term hearing aid users have a significantly lower risk of developing dementia compared with those who do not address their hearing loss.
From a public health perspective, early detection and timely intervention are therefore essential — not only to support communication and participation, but also to reduce avoidable cognitive strain and support healthier ageing trajectories.
Closing access gaps through early action
Despite increasing awareness, substantial access gaps remain across Europe. EuroTrak data from 11 European countries show that while around 55% of people with hearing loss are advised by a health professional to consider hearing aids, only 42% ultimately acquire them. This means that nearly six in ten people drop out between diagnosis and effective support.
World Hearing Day 2026 provides an important opportunity to address these gaps. Strengthening prevention, improving referral pathways, supporting innovation, and ensuring timely access to hearing care are all essential steps in embedding hearing health within broader public health and healthy ageing strategies.
By aligning WHO’s focus on children with a life-course approach to hearing health, EHIMA’s campaign reinforces a simple but powerful message: protecting and supporting hearing at every age helps people stay connected, engaged, and able to live life to the fullest.
