Raising awareness on the importance of hearing loss prevention.
Professor Abdulrahman Hagr and MED-EL ensure that the existing hearing loss solutions can make people hear again 1.1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss due to inter-relative marriage in addition to regular and prolonged exposure to loud sounds.
The Arab Academy of Otology & Cochlear Implant and MED-EL the leading manufacturer of implantable hearing solutions joins the World Health Organization (WHO) in celebration of the World Hearing Day and in raising awareness about the importance of hearing loss causes and prevention; holding a press conference during the Arab Cochlear Implant Conference (ACIC) in the presence of board members from the Arab Academy of Otology & Cochlear Implant who are the key consultants & Cochlear Implant figures representing countries from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Syria, Sudan, Qatar, Morocco, and Egypt. With Professor Abdulrahman Hagr the President of Arab Academy of Otology and Cochlear Implants, Dr. Ahmed Al Amadi from the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Jamal Kassouma from Syria, Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Qahtani from Qatar, Prof. Fatthi Abdul Baki Egypt, Dr. Abdulhameed Ghanim from Morocco, Dr. Osama Khaled Sudan and Tamer Al Shahat CEO MED-EL Middle East.
The conference theme was “Together for Better Hearing” which focuses on the importance and knowledge in this area in addition to solutions in assisting individuals and children with hearing loss. The doctors from the region came together to focus and elaborate more on the efforts of different governments to provide hearing care for all.
Prof. Abdulrahman Hagr, President of the Arab Academy of Otology and Cochlear Implant, President of the ACIC Conference said “millions of people across the world live with disabling hearing loss. Approximately 466 million worldwide, 34 million of these are children. On the other hand, “one-third of people over 65 years of age are affected”. This makes hearing loss the third most prevalent chronic health condition affecting older adults”
Dr. Ahmad Al Amadi from the UAE added saying: “UAE always cared to take the advanced necessary steps and solutions by implementing mandatory hearing screening for newborn children which in return helped in detecting hearing loss at early stages The earlier the better. Additionally, I would like to call out for the key opinion leaders to further support in the rehabilitation process”
Hearing loss is sometimes considered an invisible disability and while awareness is low, it is a growing concern worldwide. Globally, over 1.5 billion people live with hearing loss and by 2050 this number is estimated to rise to over 2.5 billion (1 in 4 people).
Dr. Jamal Kassouma also highlighted that interrelated marriages are the main reason for the continued increasing numbers of children born deaf in the Arab world, where sometimes one family could have up to three kids all suffering from hearing loss.
Tamer Al Shahat, CEO MED-EL Middle East says: “At MED-EL, it is our vision to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. This is best fulfilled by offering a complete portfolio of hearing implants. We offer five hearing systems to provide the most effective treatment for specific types of hearing loss. And now we’ve developed high-precision passive middle ear implants and added them to our portfolio. Making MED-EL the only manufacturer worldwide to offer a complete portfolio of hearing solutions for all types of hearing loss”.
