World Hearing day is celebrated globally every year on March 3. Apple invests a lot of money and intelligence in leveraging various facets of health by extensive research work. The company has extracted real feedback from users about their auditory health via Apple Watch and iPhones. Users participating in Apple’s research app has shared their own experience on hearing environmental noise, hearing music on headphones and maintaining the health of their ears. By collecting this data, the company has been able to carry forward their research on auditory health. According to them, the participation level has increased manifold times due to the ease of access and smooth connectivity across internet.
Now just before the Hearing Day of this year, that is, March 3, 2021, Apple has shared their study insights. In a nutshell, what it has unveiled, is the lack of awareness among people and the burgeoning noise pollution on earth.
According to the findings, 25 percent of the users who participated in the survey, experience environmental sounds l, which are higher than the threshold limit set by the World Health Organization. The environmental sound comprises of various sounds, such as, traffic, machinery, horns, industry, etc. Another alarming insight is that WHO has estimated that by 2050, 700 million will have hearing loss. Apple is trying to alert Apple Watch and iPhone users with information regarding hearing health.
Another dangerous harm that we cause to our ears deliberately, is by using earphones at a level much higher than the recommended level. Every smartphone alerts users to listen below the recommended threshold but most people ignore the warning. So, most people are found to neglect their ears. Just like vision gets dimmed with age, hearing capacity also gets poor. But unlike eyes, ears do not get the importance they deserve. 10 percent of the participants have hearing problem as diagnosed by healthcare professional and 75 percent of these users have not opted for hearing aids or cochlear implants. Many users, experiencing well known symptoms of hearing loss, have outright discarded any requirement to get treatment.
You can also take part in the study. All you need to do is visit App Store and download Apple Research app.
