If you’re an author interested in getting your work into audio, and you’re thinking that it might even be a POSSIBILITY that you could do it yourself, I HIGHLY recommend you take the time to read this little book. Renee Conoulty lays out in the simplest possible terms the lowest-cost method of doing it yourself. She breaks down the technical requirements and how to get your work to achieve them and pass quality checks used by the major distribution platforms, including Audible, and how to get your book ONTO those platforms. And she lays out for you the three things you need and how much they are going to cost:

Software; there’s a free one called Audacity which is adequate for the job.

Hardware; no, you cannot record on your phone. You need a microphone. It can be a cheap one to start with; there are USB mics out there under $50.

Recording space. Very possible to DIY on the cheap or free, but actually the most important thing of all to spend your time getting right.

I don’t think there’s any better recommendation than a testimonial, so here goes:

I started my career as an author narrator in December 2019 with this book, a walk-in closet full of clothes for a recording space, and less than $100 of hardware. Within two weeks of putting up a sample and asking for feedback, I was being paid to record audiobooks for other people. I’ve since recorded over 20 books and am pulling down excellent pay for them. I’ve upgraded my hardware and learnt some new software tricks, but this is absolutely where I started. I’m lucky enough to be blessed with an amateur dramatics background and the perfect accent for audio (neutral British English). If you’re a good storyteller and you think you can stand listening to your own voice, recording your own audiobook might be for you, and this book is an excellent place to start figuring out how. Five stars.

Technical guidance

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For World Hearing Day, marked on 3 March, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released new technical guidance on hearing aid service delivery approaches for low- and middle-income settings. This document is designed to provide practical guidance to countries in developing hearing aid services in areas that lack human resources for assessing hearing, as well as fitting and maintaining hearing aids.

The guidance, developed with support from the ATScale Global Partnership for Assistive Technology, is based on the principle of task sharing among specialists and trained non-specialists. It includes two approaches, one targeting adults and the other for children 5 years and over, and is accompanied by resources with tips for healthy ear care practices, use of hearing aids and how to support people living with hearing loss.

“Over 400 million people with hearing loss could benefit from using hearing devices. However, less than 20% of these needs are fulfilled,” said WHO Director for the Department for Noncommunicable Diseases, Dr Bente Mikkelsen. “Unaddressed hearing loss is a global public health challenge and incurs an estimated cost of over US$ 1 trillion annually. Given the global shortage of ear and hearing care specialists, we have to rethink how we traditionally deliver services.”

The release of the new guide coincides with World Hearing Day. The theme for 2024 is “Changing mindsets: Let’s make ear and hearing care a reality for all”, highlighting the importance of correcting misconceptions of hearing loss that are common among the general public and primary health providers.

Existing mindsets limit access to hearing care

The first of 2 key challenges in ear and hearing care is the lack of health system capacity for the provision of integrated ear and hearing care throughout people’s lives, as evidenced by a lack of policies, human resources and dedicated finances. The service delivery approaches detailed by WHO aim to overcome this challenge by better utilizing non-specialists in providing hearing care to increase capacity.

The second key challenge relates to misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets about hearing loss and ear diseases, which are deeply ingrained within societies and often limit the success of efforts to improve hearing care. Common misperceptions include the idea that hearing loss is an inevitable part of old age and that hearing aids do not work well or are too expensive.

“Common myths about hearing loss often prevent people from seeking the services they require, even where these services are available,” said Dr Shelly Chadha, technical lead for ear and hearing care at WHO. “Any effort to improve hearing care provision through health system strengthening must be accompanied by work to raise awareness within societies and address stigma related to ear and hearing care.”

Misperceptions are also prevalent among primary health care providers who may consider this to be a specialized or difficult to provide service, resulting in failure to identify and treat even those conditions that do not need specialist care.

Changing mindsets

Changing mindsets related to ear and hearing care is crucial for improving access and mitigating the cost of unaddressed hearing loss. To address common myths and misperceptions, WHO has released several information products and resources to raise public awareness. A factsheet for health professionals provides a clear rationale and directions for engagement of primary level service providers in hearing care provision.

Governments should take steps to integrate ear and hearing care within primary health care, implement community based approaches that bring services close to people and lead initiatives to raise awareness and mitigate stigma related to hearing loss. Health care providers must also play their role by ensuring they give due attention and care to people with common ear and hearing problems. Civil society groups, parents, teachers, and physicians can use WHO’s awareness materials and community resources to inform people about the importance of ear and hearing care.

In both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), countries committed to end violence against children. The SDGs call for the end of abuse, exploitation and all forms of violence and torture against children by 2030.

UNICEF works with governments and partners worldwide to prevent and respond to violence against children in all contexts.

We collaborate with governments across sectors – including health, education, the justice system, and other social services – and with partners in business, civil society, faith-based organizations and the media to prevent and respond to violence against children. At the national and local levels, our efforts strengthen laws and policies to improve public service delivery for children and families in their homes, communities and schools. 

We also support parents and caregivers through parenting initiatives, while working with young people themselves to ensure their voices shape UNICEF programming. And we work with communities, too, to tackle harmful behaviours and social norms, advocating for social change that promotes safe environments.