World Hearing Day is observed on March 3 every year to raise awareness on ways of preventing deafness and hearing loss; and promoting ear and hearing care across the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) determines a theme every year and develops evidence-based advocacy materials like flyers, posters, infographics, banners, etc. These materials are distributed among partners in the government and civil society around the world. This apart, WHO also hosts an annual World Hearing Day event at its headquarters in Geneva. It invites all its stakeholders to join the global initiative.

In 2021, WHO launched the World report on hearing that highlighted the increasing number of people living with and at risk of hearing loss. It highlighted noise control as one of the seven key H.E.A.R.I.N.G. interventions and stressed the importance of mitigating exposure to loud sounds.

The theme for World Hearing Day 2022 is ‘To hear for life, listen with care.’ As per WHO, it will stress on the following key messages:

• It is possible to have good hearing across the life course through ear and hearing care​.
• Many common causes of hearing loss can be prevented, including hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sounds​.
• ‘Safe listening’ can mitigate the risk of hearing loss associated with recreational sound exposure​.
• WHO calls upon governments, industry partners and civil society to raise awareness for and implement evidence-based standards that promote safe listening.

The target groups would be decision makers, venue managers, and owners of entertainment venues, and general public especially young adults.

The World Hearing Day will mark the launch of the:

• Global standard for safe listening entertainment venues​.
• mSafeListening handbook.
• Media toolkit for journalists.