Have you heard?

Hearing loss affects everyone
 
 
Hearing Awareness Week is Australia’s annual event to raise community awareness of hearing impairment and ways to protect your hearing. ‘Have you heard? Hearing loss affects everyone’ is the theme in 2012

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One in six Australians is deaf or hearing impaired or has a chronic ear disorder.

For these 3.5 million Australians, there are more possibilities than ever before to be included in all aspects of community and business life, and they are ready!

What is needed now is for the rest of the community to catch up and take the opportunity to give people with a hearing loss a fair go.

Hearing Awareness Week also provides an opportunity for the 22 per cent of Australians aged 15 and over who have a hearing impairment to share their experiences and knowledge and help to create a greater understanding of their needs, aspirations and the contributions they can make to our nation.

Hearing Awareness Week is hosted by the members of the Deafness Forum of Australia

What are the signs of hearing loss? Loss of hearing is often a gradual process. Hearing loss is invisible and more common than people think. Some of the early warning signs of hearing loss are: you can hear but not understand; you find it hard to hear in noisy situations or groups of people; you think people mumble; you need turn the TV up louder than others or, you don't always hear the doorbell or the phone.

How can I manage noise in my workplace? Examine quieter alternative work practices. The ultimate outcome is to help create a safer, low noise, working environment.

What is excessive noise? Noise is considered excessive when you must use a raised voice or shout in order to be able to speak to someone at an arm's length. It is important to note that a hearing impairment does not protect a person from further noise damage nor does it give a person less susceptibility to noise induced hearing damage. In fact, it is quite critical to protect what hearing remains.

In New Zealand, it is called Deaf Awareness Week and is held in the last week of September.

During the Week, the NZ National Foundation for the Deaf focusses on a significant issue affecting the deaf and hearing impaired people of New Zealand.

Deaf Awareness Week is also a prompt for all New Zealanders to consider having their hearing tested.

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