Governor Proclaims Hearing Loss Awareness Month

Hearing Loss Awareness Month

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, approximately 1.3 million North Carolinians have hearing loss, which impacts 30 percent of adults ages 65 – 74 and 50 percent of adults ages 75 and older; with proper hearing health care and communication access, individuals with hearing loss can have meaningful and productive lives; and

Whereas, adults over the age of 50 should be screened for hearing loss as part of routine medical care; and

Whereas, after arthritis and hypertension, hearing loss is the third most common treatable condition for older adults, affecting 538,880 North Carolinians ages 65 and older; and

Whereas, North Carolina is home to nearly 800,000 veterans, among whom hearing loss and tinnitus — ringing, roaring, or buzzing sounds in the ear — are the most common service-related disabilities, permanently affecting 60 percent of veterans who return from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan; and

Whereas, approximately 5,900 children in North Carolina have a significant hearing loss, including about 200 children who are diagnosed with hearing loss shortly after birth each year; timely screening of newborns, infants and children for hearing loss and follow-up is critical for speech and language development and for families to access early intervention services so that children can live full and productive lives; and

Whereas, untreated hearing loss is associated with poorer overall health, including cardiovascular risk, cognitive changes, diabetes, balance disorders, and depression, and can lead previously socially engaged adults to become isolated and withdrawn as their hearing loss progresses; and

Whereas, hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive listening devices, transparent masks, other effective communication tools, and self-advocacy tips can improve quality of life;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim May 2025, as “Hearing Loss Awareness Month” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this fifth day of May in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.