Hearing Loss Statistics

People suffering from hearing loss are often embarrassed and unwilling to talk about their problems with others because they think it is an unusual condition that affects only older people.

“So if you have a hearing loss, understand that you are not alone.”

It is a major public health issue that is the third most common physical condition after arthritis and heart disease.

It’s an invisible condition – we cannot see it only its effects. Because the presence of a hearing loss is not visible, these effects may be attributed to aloofness, confusion, or personality changes.

Statistics

• Nearly 50 million Americans experience hearing loss. That is about 20% of adults in the United States.
• At the age of 65, one out of three people has a hearing problem.
• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) affects 20% of Americans, and hearing loss occurs in 90% of those cases.
• One in five teenagers has hearing loss.
• 60% of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan come home with hearing loss and tinnitus. It is the number one wound.
• Those with even mild hearing loss are twice as likely to develop dementia.
• People who have hearing loss are more likely to suffer from depression and isolation.
• Degrees of hearing loss: mild, moderate, severe, profound.
• 60 percent of people with hearing loss are in the workforce or in educational settings. While people in the workplace with the mildest hearing losses show little or no drop in income compared to their normal-hearing peers, as the hearing loss increases, so does the reduction in compensation.
• 30 school children out of 1000 have a hearing loss. Children who are hard of hearing will find it much more difficult than children who have normal hearing to learn vocabulary, grammar, word order, idiomatic expressions, and other aspects of verbal communication. Five out of 6 children experience ear infection (otitis media) by the time they are 3 years old.
• It is estimated that 3 in 1000 infants are born with serious to profound hearing loss. Most children with congenital hearing loss have hearing impairment at birth and are potentially identifiable by newborn and infant hearing screening. However, some congenital hearing loss may not become evident until later in childhood. More than 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents.
• Men are more likely than women to experience hearing loss.
• Hearing loss becomes more prevalent with age; hearing impairment occurs in about 18% of American adults between ages 45 and 54, 30% of adults between ages 65 and 74, and 47% of adults ages 75 and older.
• About 26 million Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 have high-frequency hearing loss due to exposure to loud noises at work or in leisure activities. Noise-induced hearing loss may happen slowly over time or suddenly. Being exposed to everyday noises, such as listening to very loud music, being in a noisy work environment, or using a lawnmower, can lead to hearing loss over many years.
• High levels of cotinine, the chemical that indicates exposure to tobacco smoke and second-hand smoke has been directly linked to higher risks of some types of hearing loss.
• Over a six-year study, the cognitive abilities of older adults (ages 75 to 84) with hearing loss declined 30% to 40% faster than in older adults whose hearing was normal. On average, older adults with hearing loss developed a significant impairment in their cognitive abilities 3.2 years sooner than those with typical hearing.
• As of December 2012, approximately 324,200 cochlear implants have been implanted worldwide. In the United States, roughly 58,000 devices have been implanted in adults and 38,000 in children.
• 90% of hearing losses can be treated with the use of hearing instruments.

Facts on Tinnitus

• • 90% of tinnitus cases occur with hearing loss.
  • Tinnitus is sometimes the first sign of hearing loss.
  • 25 million to 50 million people in the United States experience tinnitus to some degree.
  • Approximately 16 million people seek medical attention for their tinnitus, and for up to two million patients, debilitating tinnitus interferes with their daily lives.
  • Impairment of auditory activity and tinnitus are more likely to occur in Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans than post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Hearing Loss Statistics around the World

United Kingdom

There are more than 10 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss, or one in six of the population. From the total 3.7 million are of working age (16 – 64) and 6.3 million are of retirement age (65+).

By 2031, it is estimated that there will be 14.5 million people with hearing loss in the UK. There are more than 45,000 deaf children in the UK, plus many more who experience temporary hearing loss. About two million people in the UK have hearing aids, but only 1.4 million use them regularly.

At least four million people who don’t have hearing aids would benefit from using them. On average it takes ten years for people to address their hearing loss. About one in ten adults in the UK have mild tinnitus and up to 1% have tinnitus that affects their quality of life.

Australia

1 in 6 Australians is affected by hearing loss. There are approximately 30,000 users with total hearing loss.

Projections for 2050 indicate that one in every four Australians will have hearing loss. 90% of people born with hearing impairment are born into hearing families.

Canada

According to Statistics Canada, more than one million adults across the country reported having a hearing-related disability, a number of more than 50% greater than the number of people reporting problems with their eyesight.

Other studies indicate that the true number may reach three million or more Canadian adults, as those suffering from hearing problems often under-report their condition.