Governor Stein Proclaims Protect Your Hearing Month

Protect Your Hearing Month

2026

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, 1.3 million residents in North Carolina experience hearing loss and more than 50 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss, including 40 million adults ages 20 to 69 whose hearing loss is noise-induced; and
 

Whereas, hearing loss can result from a single loud sound or from repeated exposure to loud sounds over time, with the louder sounds taking less time to cause damage to hearing; and such sounds can include everyday exposures to music on personal devices with the volume set too high, fitness classes with loud music, children’s toys, concerts, bars, sporting events, movie theaters, power tools, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, sirens, and firearms; and
 

Whereas, while noise-induced hearing loss cannot be reversed, it can be prevented through avoiding noisy places when possible, turning down the volume when watching TV or listening to music, and using hearing protection such as earplugs or protective earmuffs, or, when avoiding noise or wearing hearing protection are not possible, moving farther away and taking breaks from noise; and
 

Whereas, untreated hearing loss is associated with poor 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diabetes, balance disorders, and depression, and can lead previously socially engaged adults to become isolated and withdrawn as their loss of hearing progresses; and
 

Whereas, early detection including a hearing test an important first step if you think you may have hearing loss, and with proper hearing health care, communication access, and the abundance of resources in North Carolina, people with hearing loss can maintain lives that remain meaningful and productive;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim October 2026 as “Protect Your Hearing Month” in North Carolina and commend its observance.

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 twenty-fifth day of September in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-sixth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifty-first.