During a press conference last week, the president of Quota International of Aruba for 2022-2023, Luzina de Greef said that the organization is organizing their Fundraising Picnic Dansant for the month of November.
Having finished their āBreaking the Silenceā week, De Greef commented that it was very successful, with more than a hundred people registered to check their hearing at FEPOH and The Specialist. Quota International of Aruba, as organizers were very glad to see that the Aruban community is becoming more aware about taking care of their hearing.
Ivi Simon, vice-president of FEPOH said that Quota International of Aruba didnāt organize any activities during two years because of the pandemic, and right now, with a lot of enthusiasm they are announcing the Picnic Dansant, an activity she said is awaited by many people.
Picnic Dansant will take place on the 27th of November at the Renaissance Conference Center, from 2pm to 5pm. Simon said the theme for this year is āBack to the 80sā, and because a lot of people have been asking how to prepare for this day, she said that they need to prepare a dashing outfit.
To fill the event with rhythm and music, the band Azucar will be present. Simon mentioned there will also be food and drinks, and every fund that is raised on this day will be given back to the community in need of help.
She also said that Quota International of Aruba in the past has made donations of up to 100,000 florins, but because of circumstances, the amounts have been reducing, to reach 40,000 florins. āWe want to go back to at least 50,000 florins in fundraising for next yearā, Simon said.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, FEPOH detected that the demand for hearing care increased in Aruba, they donāt know if this is because people stayed at home a lot more because of pandemic rules, or other unknown reasons. What is important is that the organization has been noticing, particularly at school, children and youth whose hearing is not as it should be. For this reason they feel the need to continue giving information on how to take care of hearing, since once a person loses their hearing, they cannot get it back. This happens slowly, and often the person doesnāt notice that itās happening. This is why itās very important to check tour hearing. They also recommend not using headphones with a high volume.
The organization also said that normally during the carnival season there are campaigns to take care of your ears, but people are not aware of loud sounds for the rest of the year. For example during new year with fireworks, sometimes people stand close and donāt notice that itās just as loud as a carnival trailer and can also ruin their hearing. Simon said that all loud sounds are very damaging to hearing, and for this reason, Quota International of Aruba encourages people to be aware of this and prevent irrevocable damage. She explains that loud sounds can be machinery at work in construction or industry, printing and fabrics, and itās for this reason that these workplaces have safety measures in place.
From a young age it is important to take care of hearing and follow all recommendations. This includes not subjecting the ear to very intense sounds in order to avoid auditory problems and infections, which are considering the second most prevalent cause of hearing loss. A recommendation is to reduce the amount of machinery operating at the same time; keeping electronics at a safe volume; not listening to music with headphones during more than one hour per day, while keeping them at a volume below 60%; use protection when working with sound; dry both ears carefully after shower or going into the pool, to avoid that water gets inside and causes an infection.
