World Hearing Day, an observance of the World Health Organization, is March 3.

More than 48 million Americans have hearing loss. Polling has shown that almost half of American adults (46%) say they have a close family member or other loved one who has difficulty hearing. And although untreated hearing loss is associated with poorer quality of life as well as an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia, depression, falls, and a host of other serious conditions, many adults do not seek treatment for years, even decades—if ever.

Polling has also shown that for those who report having hearing trouble, the biggest barrier to their accessing help has their denial of the seriousness involved and inaction toward receiving care. Many have indicated they were content to get by with some degree of hearing loss, and too many others have said they would only seek help if their hearing problems became “severe”—and possibly more difficult and more expensive to treat.

The National Association for Hearing and Speech Action (NAHSA), the consumer affiliate of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, is dedicated to educating the public about their hearing health among other aspects of human communication. NAHSA is encouraging television stations to help bring this important message to their viewers via our Act Now on Hearing PSA campaign in the weeks leading up to World Hearing Day and beyond. It portrays a family gathering (birthday celebration) setting that people can easily identify with, and the PSA, which is animated, conveys in a creative, succinct, and encouraging way the importance of acting on one’s hearing health before it is too late. The PSA is available in English and Spanish. These PSAs have no end date for use.

FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION OR HARD COPY, PLEASE EMAIL: PSAS@multivu.com