An online event titled 'World Hearing Day' was organized by Üsküdar University Vocational School of Health Services. The event was attended by Lect. Elifnur Taşdemir Er, Head of the Audiometry Program at the Vocational School of Health Services, and Lect. Ayşe Gül Elsharkawy from the Audiometry Program. During the event, which provided information on hearing loss and ear diseases, it was emphasized that systematic screening is crucial for the detection of hearing loss and ear diseases. The importance of early diagnosis in hearing loss was highlighted.
The online event saw strong participation.
Lect. Elifnur Taşdemir Er: “Early diagnosis is very important in hearing loss”
Emphasizing that systematic screening is crucial for the detection of hearing loss and ear diseases, Lect. Elifnur Taşdemir, Head of the Audiometry Program at the Vocational School of Health Services, said: “Hearing screenings are among the recommended systematic screenings that we continuously conduct. These hearing screenings can be performed in newborns and children, preschool and school-aged children, workplaces, and adult or elderly groups for early detection. Early diagnosis is very important in hearing loss. For groups where this cannot be done, solutions can be considered. The World Health Organization also has its own hearing screening application. This application was developed so you can perform your own hearing screening. The hearing test done here is not one hundred percent effective; it is not a test that can provide a definitive diagnosis. Similarly, you can see such things on YouTube. A sound at a certain frequency is sent and published on YouTube. It states which frequencies you can hear; you can see such things. We need to be careful with these kinds of things. These are definitely not things that determine whether we can hear or not. No test not performed in clinical Audiology units or Audiometry units can provide definitive results and diagnosis.”
“Hearing aids do not function like glasses”
Taşdemir, stating that it is a big misconception to think that hearing aids eliminate problems like glasses, said: “When we wear glasses, we can see an object clearly, but when we put on a hearing aid, we cannot immediately interpret whether what we hear for the first time truly has that meaning, and sometimes we cannot hear sounds very clearly. Since the sound we hear does not feel very normal to us and because we are hearing it for the first time, it can feel different. Therefore, the situation is not like with glasses. This is why creating awareness about hearing aids is very valuable, and hearing aids alone are not sufficient for understanding what staff say in crowded environments. The existence of such systems is a pleasing situation for individuals with hearing impairments.”
Lect. Ayşe Gül Elsharkawy: “Awareness training can be provided on the dangers of noise pollution”
Underlining the negative effects of high-volume environments on hearing health, Lect. Ayşe Gül Elsharkawy from the Audiometry Program said: “When you go to a wedding or a concert, especially if you stand near the speakers, you might experience a hum or some ringing in your ears after leaving the venue, especially in the silence of the night. However, after resting for a while and spending hours in a quiet environment, for example, when you wake up the next morning, you might notice your hearing has returned to normal. In audiology science, we refer to this as ‘temporary threshold shift.’ If hearing loss is detected during exposure to high-intensity sound, a slight worsening of the threshold shift may be observed. There is a possibility of returning to the previous state depending on the intensity and duration of the sound you were exposed to. However, if this exposure is higher than a safe intensity level and this exposure lasts for hours, days, or months, it now means permanent threshold shift. So, what needs to be done about this? It actually requires a multi-faceted approach involving environmental and personal interventions. Therefore, noise-reducing technologies, environmental adjustments, or individual protection are necessary. In occupational and urban environments, such initiatives can help reduce noise levels, and if we talk about individual protection, personal protective equipment like earplugs or headphones play a role in providing the necessary protection in high-intensity places. Awareness training can also be provided to the public and to individuals working in noisy environments about the dangers of noise pollution, and its impact can be increased through awareness campaigns.”
The event concluded after participants' questions were answered.