Ramat Gan - Across the globe, 1.1 billion teenagers and
young adults are at risk of hearing loss due to the unsafe use of personal
audio devices, including smartphones.
Every year, March 3rd is International
Ear Care Day. This year, Shazam, in collaboration with BBR Saatchi &
Saatchi, raised awareness to this cause by exposing users to a unique campaign.
The music identification app was listening, as it does on every other day, but
was hardly hearing.
The thought-provoking message was being
shared with Shazam's users through a special on-screen banner that appeared when
the app identified a soundtrack. When the user clicked on the message they were
navigated to useful information that can help them avoid future hearing loss.
The activity was especially
relevant to this year's theme 'Make Listening Safe'. Shazam's 600 million users
are perfectly aligned with those most at risk - young music-listeners. This is
an audience whose attention is always difficult to attract, particularly to a
message drawing attention to risks linked to a
source of pleasure.
The Shazam activity played a significant role
in raising awareness of the importance of avoiding hearing loss, and in
promoting practical advice that can prevent it from happening.
Comment from Shazam:
"Shazam’s mission is to help people magically connect with the world around
them, building on our work in music identification. Unfortunately, hearing loss
affects numerous people worldwide, preventing them from fully enjoying new
sounds and experiences. We’re proud to support Ear Care Day 2015 to educate
people on the steps they can take for better ear and hearing care."
Further information:
Shazam is a mobile
app that recognizes music and TV around you. It is the best way to discover,
explore and share the music and TV you love. Shazam connects more than 600 million people
across the globe.
WHO
(World Health Organization) is the
directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system.
It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping
the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating
evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and
monitoring and assessing health trends.
International Ear Care Day is an annual advocacy event held on March 3rd, that aims
to raise awareness and promote ear and hearing care across the world. In 2015, the theme is ‘Make Listening Safe’. This theme
draws attention to the rising problem of noise-induced hearing loss. It raises
the alarm that millions of teenagers and young people are at risk of hearing
loss due to the unsafe use of personal audio devices, including smartphones,
and exposure to damaging levels of sound at noisy entertainment venues such as
nightclubs, bars and sporting events. It highlights that such recreational
hearing loss has potentially devastating consequences for physical and mental
health, education and employment, but that prevention is possible.