This much is clear: hearing loss is rapidly emerging as a major health concern of global proportions. Particularly in the developing world, where access to preventative care is often limited, the prevalence of hearing loss is rising rapidly.

    Yet statistics fail to capture the magnitude of the problem at hand.  Cut off from the necessary services and technology, tens of millions of people currently living with hearing loss must face the daily challenges of the condition alone. While some will have the opportunity to learn sign language, drawing a sense of identity from their participation in the Deaf community, the broad majority will be forced to eke out an existence in a hearing world that is largely indifferent to their struggle. It is only in this light that we begin to understand the full cost of untreated hearing loss.

    For those who are born hard of hearing, spoken language will come only with great difficulty, if at all, and their social and cognitive development will suffer as a result. For those who acquire hearing loss later in life, perhaps after years of exposure to noise damage, the challenge of adjusting to an unfamiliar world filled with limitation often leads to depression and withdrawal. In either case, powerless to change their fate, many of these people will go through life knowing little more than silence, solitude, and dependence.

   But it does not have to be this way. With the right technology and support services, all hard of hearing people can lead fulfilling and productive lives. It is our responsibility to give them the chance.