Health effects from noise

One in four of the world's population will suffer from hearing problems by 2050, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday, calling for extra investment in prevention and treatment.

The first ever global report on hearing said that the causes of many of the problems such as infections, diseases, birth defects, noise exposure and lifestyle choices could be prevented.

Residents of Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul, suffer some of the worst hearing loss in the world due to excessive amounts of noise, according to data from the Worldwide Hearing Index, which was prepared for the World Hearing Day on March 3.

The city was the fifth worst city out of 50 for hearing loss, according to the Combined Hearing Loss Index, which is a combined result of the average hearing loss and the noise pollution indices.

The index was prepared by a German scientific research company, Mimi.