Advocates, researchers and hearing health care professionals urge the Government of Canada to act first … and act now.
March 1, 2023 – Toronto ON: Canada is on the cusp of a potential public health crisis as the number of Canadians with some degree of hearing loss is expected to substantially increase as our population ages, and noise-induced hearing damage among young people rises. Swift and decisive action is therefore required by the government to create a bold, ambitious National Hearing Health Strategy.
To achieve this goal, the Hearing Health Alliance of Canada (HHAC) urges the Government of Canada to establish a multi-stakeholder committee to facilitate a national dialogue, foster stakeholder collaboration, and crystalize a pan-Canadian effort to develop a comprehensive National Hearing Health Strategy.
The HHAC’s call to action – Towards a National Hearing Health Strategy: An Agenda for Change – is backed by an abundance of research and statistics and is a low-cost initiative that has the potential to provide tremendous health and socio-economic benefits for all Canadians. It also aligns with a World Health Organization (WHO) resolution, which urges all member states, including Canada, to develop a national framework and recognize hearing loss as a public health issue and an essential component of universal health coverage.
Unless measures are taken in the near term, the costs of hearing loss will continue to rise with an enormous impact on the government-funded health care system, and the Canadian economy in terms of lost productivity, career, educational and training opportunities, employee earnings, and tax revenue. Meanwhile, the quality of life for Canadians with hearing loss will continue to decline.
To view our call to action, please visit: hearinghealthalliance.com
For additional information, please contact:
Daniel Tessier-Young, National Coordinator
Hearing Health Alliance of Canada