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Introduction

It is estimated that over a billion young people worldwide are at risk of avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices. In response to this growing public health problem, WHO launched the Make Listening Safe initiative in 2015, with the aim of preventing hearing loss through hearing conservation.

In this effort, WHO has been working in close collaboration with the International Telecommunications Union. A WHO-ITU Global standard for safe listening personal audio systems was approved in 2019 (ITU-T H.870 "Guidelines for safe listening personal audio systems") and updated in 2022. This makes recommendations for safe listening features in smartphones, headphones and other devices with music playing capabilities. Th​​​​is standard has received widespread global acceptance and leading smartphone manufacturers have integrated its recommendations within their systems. Discussions are ongoing within other standardization for a such as International Electronics Commission (IEC) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) to harmonize their current guidance to be in line with this standard.

At present, WHO and ITU are co-developing guidance for manufacturers of video game play hardware and software regarding safe listening features in these popular technologies.

The World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24) is being held in New Delhi India this year and will be accompanied by the India Mobile Congress. This presents a unique showcasing and promotion opportunity for the ITU & WHO safe listening standards, to further their adoption within the booming mobile technology sector. To capitalize on this, the side event aims to:

• Raise awareness on the risks posed by unsafe listening through personal audio systems/mobile technologies.
  
• Promote implementation of the global standard for safe listening by stakeholders of the telecommunication technology and standardization sectors.
• Showcase the ongoing collaboration between WHO and ITU for hearing conservation.
• Encourage telecommunication sector to effectively use their technologies for promoting health and reducing the risk of hearing loss in the population at large.
  

Target Audience

Policy makers, mobile telecom operators, manufacturers of devices, implementors of videogaming & esports software and hardware, as well as consumers of music and videogaming products.

Registration