Around 135 million people, with approximately 10 million individuals in Nigeria, are said to be experiencing disabling hearing loss, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report.

Confirming this development in Lagos, an audiologist/member of the WHO World Hearing Forum and Medical Director of Niger Bell Speech & Hearing Centre, Dr Barnabas Vangerwua, said: “Nigerians, daily, are being exposed to many things that are detrimental to their hearing, some of which include excessive noise, certain medical conditions, ageing and genetic factors”.

With offices in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Calabar, and also representing some of the most renowned audio-tech companies in the world, Nigerbell is Nigeria’s leading audiology diagnostic and treatment centre. Hearing loss is an impairment of the ear’s ability to process sound.

It can range from mild (missing soft sounds) to profound (complete deafness), often due to multiple factors. Vangerwua noted that while some types of hearing loss can be prevented by protecting our ears from loud noises using earplugs or earmuffs, reducing the volume on personal audio devices, and getting regular hearing tests, age-related hearing loss may be unavoidable.

He, however, explained that noise-induced hearing loss is largely preventable with consistent ear protection. Audiologist listed age related loss, (a natural part of ageing where the inner ear’s ability to process sound declines), noise induced hearing loss caused by prolonged or sudden exposure of loud sounds from sources like concerts, power tools or loud machinery; medical condition like diabetes, heart disease and some viral or bacterial; medical side effects like drugs including certain antibiotics and high dose of aspirin which can damage hearing, plus other factors like head injuries as some of the factors that can lead to hearing loss.