Celebrating Better Hearing and Speech Month May 2022

celebrating better hearing and speech month may 2022

Do you know that every May we celebrate Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) since 1927? The reason for this celebration is to provide an opportunity to raise awareness about hearing and speech disorders. This year the theme set by American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) is “Connecting People”.

better hearing and speech month 2022 - MASH

On the other hand, the Malaysian Association of Speech and Hearing (MASH) has set “Communication and Wellness” as a theme with the objective to help our local communities nationwide understand how hearing, speech, and communication problems can be understood better and managed to enhance overall communication and well-being.

World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are: 

  • 466 million persons in the world live with disabling hearing loss* -> 6.1% of the world’s population 
  • 432 million (93%) of these are adults: > 242 million males, 190 million females 
  • 34 million (7%) of these are children 
  • One-third of persons 65+ are affected by disabling hearing loss 
  • The number of people with disabling hearing loss will grow over the years -> up to 630 million by 2030 and over 900 million in 2050 

*Disabling hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 40 dB in the better hearing ear in adults (15 years or older) and greater than 30 dB in the better hearing ear in children (0 to 14 years).

Hearing Loss and Speech?

better hearing and speech month 2022

Hearing loss also could affect the speech aspect which mostly involved children. It can cause delays in the development of communication skills, in terms of both receptive and expressive skills (speech and language). Their vocabulary may develop more slowly than those without impairment. 

Children with hearing loss and speech delay will have psychosocial impacts including communication and behavioural problems, self-esteem and image problems, and depression and introversion. 

The psychosocial problems may be different for prelingual and post-lingual children. Perhaps comparatively, prelingual children would develop “more” psychosocial problems. Compared to post-lingual children (who have developed speech and language skills), prelingual children must undergo intensive and frequent assessments and therapies to develop their hearing, speech and language skills.

Thus, it is very important to get your child’s hearing checked.

Show Your Support with Us

Soundlife supports BHSM that and we actively involved in providing free hearing screenings for the public with different collaborators such as JCI, Lions Club, Pusat Khidmat ADUN Kampung Tunku, and Dharma Vihara Bao En. Below are the details of our events. Come and join us.

           14th May 2022 (Saturday)

           8.00 am – 12.00 pm at Community Baptist Church 

           15th May 2022 (Sunday) 

           9.00 am – 5.00 pm at Persatuan Ajaran Bao En Dharma Vihara Selangor

If you miss out on those events, don’t worry. You can book an appointment for a FREE ear check and hearing screening at Soundlife Hearing Kota Kemuning through this link https://bit.ly/NewApptSKK. 

 

We also conduct a series of FB live in May and June with other healthcare professionals that covers the topic regarding hearing loss, hearing aids and general health. 

  • “More Hearing, Less Sugar” – how diabetes affects hearing loss by Ms Alleya with the collaboration with Dr Andrew, Dr Jasmine  

            10th May 2022 & 17th May 2022 8.30 pm. (Private group) 

  • Real Ear Measurement (The Golden Audiological Test) FB live by Ms Alleya.  

           20th May 2022 (Friday), 9.00 pm 

  • Why hearing aid is so expensive? Interview with hearing aid manufacturers representative  

           27th May 2022 (Friday), 9.00 pm 

If you don’t wish to miss out on our FB health talk, do like and follow us at facebook.com/soundlifehearing 

Act Now!!! 

Early detection and intervention for hearing loss are extremely crucial. If you know someone who suffers from hearing loss, get them checked out right away. Book an appointment today to do the hearing test and know more about our hearing aids. 

Soundlife Hearing Petaling Jaya: https://bit.ly/NewApptSPJ2  

Soundlife Hearing Kota Kemuning: https://bit.ly/NewApptSKK