**Baltimore**: The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health introduces the Hearing Number app, a multilingual tool to help users monitor their hearing health while combating stigma and promoting proactive engagement with hearing technologies as part of its Know Your Hearing campaign.
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has unveiled a new tool aimed at enhancing public awareness of hearing health—the Hearing Number app. This free, multilingual application is available for both iOS and Android devices and is part of a larger public health initiative to encourage users to monitor their hearing health as a preventive measure.
Launched under the Know Your Hearing campaign, the Hearing Number app is designed to measure and track hearing capability, providing users with an unwavering understanding of their hearing health over time. Frank Lin, MD, PhD, lead creator of the app and director of the Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, highlighted its significance, stating, “The Hearing Number gives everyone a way to easily understand and think about their hearing over their lifetimes beginning as a teenager.” This innovative tool introduces what is described as the most widely used clinical measure for hearing through a metric known as Hearing Numbers. These numbers represent the softest speech sound an individual can detect in decibels, which is crucial for both assessing and addressing various types of hearing loss.
Currently available in English and Spanish across 28 countries, including the United States, the app is expected to broaden its scope to include languages such as Chinese, French, German, and Japanese in the near future. Developed in collaboration with Mimi Hearing Technologies GmbH, this app stands out as the first hearing test application of its kind designed for the Android platform.
According to estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), 700 million people worldwide are projected to experience hearing loss by 2050, with issues primarily stemming from unsafe listening practices, especially among the youth. In contexts where hearing loss is rampant, the impact extends beyond communication challenges; it affects social interaction, cognitive capabilities, and emotional well-being. Research indicates a link between untreated hearing loss in older adults and increased risks of cognitive decline, fatigue, depression, and social isolation.
The Hearing Number app allows users to undergo a brief hearing test, lasting approximately five minutes, using standard headphones or earbuds in a quiet environment. Users can engage with the app without providing personal data, ensuring privacy while promoting user engagement and data sharing on a broader scale.
With the substantial changes brought about by the FDA’s approval of over-the-counter hearing aids in 2022, technologies that address hearing concerns are becoming more accessible. This context adds weight to the importance of utilising metrics like the Hearing Number to determine the need for further intervention when it comes to hearing health.
Despite advancements in hearing aid technology and a wider acceptance of such devices, complex social stigmas still permeate perceptions surrounding hearing aids. While more individuals can now seek treatment for hearing loss, the stigma remains due to historical associations of hearing aids with ageing and disability. Addressing these perceptions is an ongoing challenge, particularly as advancements in technology continue to enhance the functionality and aesthetics of hearing aids.
The Hearing Number app, along with the accompanying Know Your Hearing public health campaign, is poised to facilitate a cultural shift in how society views and prioritises hearing health. As more users adapt to using such tools to track their hearing, they may find themselves empowered to engage with hearing technologies, transforming approaches to hearing loss from reactive to proactive.
Source: Noah Wire Services
