by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
The Centers for Disease Control has embarked on a public education campaign to reduce preventable cardiovascular mortality. They are calling it Million Hearts. Among the things people can do to prevent heart disease and fatal heart attacks are what CDC is calling “the ABCs”: a daily baby aspirin (unless there are medical reasons not to take it), blood pressure control, cholesterol control, and not smoking. Other actions include exercising, maintaining an ideal body weight, and eating a healthy diet.
Thanks to the Framingham Study, we know that heart disease and stroke are not part of normal aging but are largely preventable. Similarly, hearing loss is not part of normal aging but largely represents noise-induced hearing loss.
So when will CDC embark on a similar campaign to educate the public about preventing hearing loss? I suggest calling it the Million Ears campaign. Maybe Ten Million Ears.
A common saying is “nobody dies from going deaf,”* but that isn’t true. Hearing loss is associated with social isolation, falls, depression, and dementia in older people, all of which in turn are correlated and most likely causally related to increased mortality. Hearing loss also has major impacts on enjoyment of life and social function.
And unlike preventing heart disease and stroke, preventing noise-induced hearing loss is much easier–just avoid loud noise and wear hearing protection if you can’t.
Remember: If it sounds too loud, it IS too loud.
* The phrase “nobody dies from going deaf” is what is commonly said. The word “deaf,” however, usually denotes congenital hearing loss or severe hearing loss. The term “hearing loss” is more appropriately used for mild to moderate noise-induced hearing loss.
