President of Hearing International Suchitra Prasansuk speaks at the 19th Hearing International Meeting opened in Ho Chi Minh City on September 24 (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – The 19th Hearing International Meeting opened in Ho Chi Minh City on September 24, gathering over 300 leading experts from the US, Thailand, Myanmar, India, among other countries.
Speaking at the annual event, Suchitra Prasansuk, president of the non-governmental charity organisation Hearing International, cited WHO statistics which show the number of people suffering deafness and hearing problems increased from about 250 million in 2010 to some 360 million in 2015.
Now one in every six persons in the world encounters the health problem, which is yet to receive proper attention, she added.
The official attributed the increasing number particularly to the habit of wearing a headphone for a long period of time among young people.
Otitis media, which is a group of inflammatory diseases of the middle ear, is blamed as a popular cause of hearing problems in Vietnam.
At the meeting, Associate Professor Tran Phan Chung Thuy, deputy head of the Ear-Nose-Throat Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City, said the diseases could happen to babies of between three and 18 months old and prompt treatment is required to ease complications.
Thuy stressed that the diseases can be prevented via vaccination but not many Vietnamese parents are aware of it.
Participating experts also discussed other ear-nose-throat diseases and got updated on the treatment of the balance disorder.-VNA
VNA
