Today, on World Hearing Day, we mark an important moment for hearing health and inclusion.
This year’s theme, “From communities to classrooms: hearing care for all children”, highlights the importance of preventing and treating childhood hearing loss by ensuring early identification and support. By integrating hearing services into school health and community health programmes, children can access the tools they need to hear, learn and participate on equal terms.
Early support is essential. Systematic hearing screening in schools, timely follow-up and inclusive learning environments form the foundation of equal educational opportunity. However, inclusion must not stop at childhood. Ensuring inclusive education is only the beginning of a broader pathway that extends into vocational training, higher education and employment.
On this World Hearing Day, EFHOH calls for a life-course approach connecting early identification, inclusive education and equal access to employment. A dedicated EU Strategy on Hearing Loss is essential to align health, education and employment policies and ensure equal participation from communities to classrooms, and from classrooms to employment.
Read our full statement here.
