To mark World Deaf Day 2025, COFACE Families Europe member organisation FIAPAS (the Spanish Confederation of Families of Deaf People), has released its Manifesto for the Right to Hear.
The manifesto highlights the urgent need to guarantee the right to hearing health across all ages, stressing that access to hearing aids, assistive technologies, and hearing accessibility are not privileges but essential conditions for inclusion, education, well-being, and equal participation in society.
FIAPAS warns that when the right to hear is not ensured, fundamental human rights – including the rights to health, education, work, and civic participation, are also compromised. The organisation calls for a comprehensive public hearing health policy that spans prevention, early detection, treatment, and lifelong care.
Among its key demands are:
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Universal access to hearing aids without age discrimination (currently only covered up to age 26 in Spain);
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Screening and treatment programmes for hearing loss across the paediatric population and for adults over 50;
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Stronger public health campaigns against noise-induced hearing damage;
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The explicit recognition of hearing accessibility in law, ensuring people using hearing aids or implants can access information and communication on equal terms.
The manifesto reminds policymakers and the public alike that “claiming the right to hear is the first step towards guaranteeing the full exercise of all rights.”
