On the 3 March each year light is shone on one of the least-tackled ailments in many societies on World Hearing Day
The main aim of commemorating World Hearing Day is to promote early detection and intervention to prevent hearing loss at an early age, thus sparing many people the agony and suffering associated with it.
According to the World Health Organization, almost 60% of childhood hearing loss cases can be avoided if detected and treated at an early stage.
In Egypt this year, the event was commemorated with collaboration between one of the notable Egyptian NGOs and the private sector MED-EL, who jointly launched a medical convoy to the Upper Egypt governorate of Fayoum on 5 March.
The aim of the convey was to identify patients in Fayoum and increase awareness and knowledge about hearing loss.
This was the second time that a convoy has travelled to Egypt's provinces. In November 2015, a convoy travelled to the governorate of Minya in Upper Egypt.
When the convoy arrived, parents were able to bring their children to be inspected by audiologists through screening processes in order to check if they needed basic medical treatment, or if their case needed further screening for a Cochlear implant surgery.
Any necessary surgery or rehabilitation process that follows will be fully sponsored by the private sector company.
Estimates by the WHO reveal that 360 million people worldwide (almost 5% of the world's population) live with a degree of hearing loss, including 32 million children who mostly live in low and middle-income countries.
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/190604.aspx