The World Health Organization's World Report on Hearing: a call to action for hearing care providers

The World Health Organization's World Report on Hearing debuted at the 2020 World Health Assembly in direct response to the 2017 World Health Assembly Resolution.1 The Report is a first of its kind within the field of hearing care, and amplifies recent national and global efforts to both recognise and address hearing loss as a public health priority, including the US-based National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's 2016 report and the ongoing Lancet Commission on hearing loss.2,3 The growing burden of hearing loss, across the life course and in diverse resource settings, equates to 466 million individuals worldwide, a number expected to grow to over 900 million by 2050.4 Access to effective communication is fundamental to the health, education, employment, and overall well-being of individuals, families and societies, and is a core component of personal and public health. The Lancet Commission's 2017 report on dementia identified hearing loss in mid-life as the largest potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia in older life, and it elevated awareness of hearing loss and its potential impact for the first time for many working outside of hearing care.5 The expected debut of over-the-counter hearing aids in the USA by the end of 2020 is another example of translating national efforts into consequential policies that will fundamentally change the landscape of hearing care.6 These advances push clinicians, manufacturers and policy makers to understand that change is needed and is possible. [...]we must be advocates who champion public health driven approaches.