On World Hearing Day, the WHO launched a new initiative to enable local healthcare professionals to deliver primary ear care including treatable conditions such as cerumen buildup and otitis. This could resolve up to 60% of ear issues directly. Practitioners would be trained to screen for hearing loss but not to treat it. Yet there are many regions of the world where referring out to a hearing care professional is difficult, if not impossible. Given recent innovations in portable diagnostic equipment, telecare, and devices, the possibility of equipping primary healthcare professionals to treat many cases of hearing loss is growing every day.