Addressing the media at the National Hospital in view of ‘World Hearing Day,’ Past President of the CO and HNS Dr Chandra Jayasuriya said that a simple test known as the ‘Whispered Word test’ could be carried out on the spot to help an individual to find out his/her hearing ability. Any lay person can perform it on another.

The theme for this year World Hearing Day will be ‘Childhood Hearing.’

In the case of young children it would be best to whisper the names of their favourite cartoon on TV or their favourite food. The test could be performed on adults by whispering two digit numbers. The test was carried out by disrupting the ability of hearing in one ear at a time. If persons find that they had hearing problems, it was best to seek medical attention, she said.

Dr. Jayasuriya said they had also completed a pilot project to assess the hearing abilities of new born babies in early 2012. She said the project had been carried out in Hospitals in Colombo, Galle, Kandy and Jaffna. It would be extended to the rest of the country, she said.