JABAR EKSPRES — Every year, on July 18th, the world celebrates World Listening Day. This event aims to raise awareness about the importance of hearing in human life and promote efforts for global hearing protection.
The commemoration of this day coincides with the birthday of an acoustic ecologist, Raymond Murray Schafer, a Canadian environmentalist and composer.
World Listening Day provides an opportunity for communities to understand the value of the sense of hearing in connecting us with the world and with our fellow human beings. Hearing is one of the fundamental senses underlying human communication and social interaction.
Through hearing, we can communicate with family, friends, and the environment around us. It also plays a crucial role in learning, providing information, and creating awareness about the environment around us.
However, we often overlook how important this sense is and are unaware of the dangers of hearing loss. World Listening Day reinforces awareness of the threats faced by human hearing. Conditions such as deafness or hearing impairments affect millions of people worldwide.
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The causes can stem from various factors, ranging from genetics, physical injuries, infections, prolonged exposure to loud noises, to the use of audio devices at high volumes.
Through this celebration, experts and related organizations strive to provide information on how to protect hearing and reduce the risk of hearing loss due to avoidable factors. When we talk about listening, it is important to understand that communication is not just about words.
Communication also involves active listening and appreciating the opinions, ideas, and feelings of others. When we listen carefully, we create deeper bonds with our fellow human beings and enhance empathy. Creating a culture of listening is a crucial step in building a better and more empathetic world.
Moreover, World Listening Day is also an opportunity to raise awareness about hearing limitations among children and adults. In many cases, poor hearing in early childhood can hinder language development and academic abilities in children. Therefore, early detection and appropriate interventions are essential to help children with hearing impairments develop optimally.
