Lindsay Lohan Joins The Awareness Drive

Actress Lindsay Lohan and pop singer Annie Lennox are the latest stars to add their names and images with an awareness campaign to hearing loss.

They asked for the musician Bryan Adams as part of the campaign Hear the World, created to raise awareness of the importance of the hearing.

They join other celebrities such as Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, Placido Domingo, Moby, and "King of Calypso" Harry Belafonte, who took part.

Each individual is photographed with their hands behind their ear to transmit an attempt to listen or hear.

The campaign, created by the device manufacturer Phonak hearing, drew attention to the emotional and social impact of hearing loss, which affects more than 10% of the world's population.

Some 500 million people around the world are hearing impaired, and the number is expected to rise to 700 million by the year 2015.

Belafonte, who has a hearing loss, said: "Good hearing is extremely important. He has a lot of impact on the personality. I noticed (in my hearing has deteriorated) that my voice has changed, and I I have had to speak louder.

"People thought I was a more aggressive, and I did not want to be aggressive at all. I think people just need to be very, very mindful and protective of their hearing."