2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER
| Addressing Global Hearing Impairment in Low-Income Countries Such as Peru
Addressing Global Hearing Impairment in Low-Income Countries Such as Peru
Hearing impairment is a significant problem that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates affects approximately 278 million people worldwide. Of these, a greater proportion live in low-income countries. This is corroborated by research which finds that Peruvian schoolchildren living in poverty are over 4 times more likely to have hearing deficits than children from higher-income countries. Another study shows that nearly 2% of Peru’s population, or over 532,000 people, live with permanent hearing loss. Addressing this health concern in Peru is significant to local medical professionals as well as those invested in global health initiatives, and doing so can elucidate promising methods for curtailing hearing loss in other low-income countries and beyond. Assisting Peru in confronting this disease burden will involve a culturally competent approach to understanding hearing loss prevalence, and addressing shortages of physicians, especially otolaryngologists and audiologists. To illustrate, while there are approximately 33,961 people per ENT specialist in the USA, there are over 45,000 people per ENT specialist in Peru, which demonstrates greater difficulty in addressing needs. Increasing the availability of treatment options—such as hearing aids and cochlear implants—and the availability of preventative measures—such as screening children for otitis media—also has great potential to ameliorate the burden of hearing impairment both in Peru and globally. Finally, addressing risk factors for hearing loss present in Peruvian society, such as loud public transportation and music, may present an opportunity for general education on healthy living and hearing loss prevention. Application of these methods will provide data for the development of a holistic plan for addressing hearing impairment, and expounding the role global health initiatives can play in facilitating its execution.
- Participants will be able to list 9 health factors that increase the risk of hearing loss in children.
- Participants will be able to explain holistic methods for reducing hearing loss.
- Participants will be able to describe methods of increasing global distribution of hearing loss treatment and technologies.
Presentation:
3545975_18302RhenDavis.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Rhen Davis
(Primary Presenter), University of Arizona, College of Medicine - Tucson, rhendavis@arizona.edu;
Rhen Davis is a second year medical student from Tucson, AZ who is invested in furthering the global healthcare of those suffering from hearing loss.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Personal
(The presenter is a medical student enrolled in global health courses at the University of Arizona and is not of Peruvian heritage. )
relationship for Other volunteer activities.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.