Hearing Loss Statistics and Their Meaning

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Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

Hearing loss is a common disability. It’s natural to lose some hearing as you age. Most people know someone, probably well, who needs some kind of hearing help. Even fairly profound hearing loss is not unfamiliar. While some level of hearing loss is not a frightening aspect, hearing loss statistics are important for their ability to determine how to prevent hearing loss if possible.

Many organizations maintain hearing loss statistics. The United Nation’s World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 278 million people with moderate to profound hearing loss in both ears. Low- and middle – income countries are the home to about 80% of those individuals. Not surprisingly, longer life expectancies contribute to a growth in the numbers of those who are hearing impaired.

Current hearing loss statistics reveal that the main cause of mild to moderate hearing impairment in children is chronic ear infection. This is important since childhood hearing loss can cause serious problems if the loss is significant and the child is not old enough to have developed language skills.

The hearing loss statistics show that currently hearing aid production meets less than 10% of the world’s need. This is one of the numbers that it is possible to improve. In developing countries, less than one person in forty has a needed hearing aid.

Another of the improvable hearing loss statistics is that about half of the world’s hearing impairment could have been avoided through prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment. These hearing loss statistics show that we can do a lot more to improve the lives of those with hearing loss.

Treatment for Hearing Loss

Closer to home, the hearing loss statistics of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that in recent years, nearly 72,000 children aged six to twenty-one received special education for hearing impairment. Not counted in that number are the students who may be hearing impaired but are not receiving special education services or are receiving them under another category.

This number can be high since hearing loss statistics show that about thirty percent of children with hearing loss suffer from one or more other disabilities. The CDC maintains a program that tracks hearing impaired children in Atlanta, Georgia. The hearing loss statistics from this program show that in children aged three to ten, about nine in 10.000 suffered a moderate to profound hearing loss in both ears.

Hearing loss occurs in older children more than younger ones. This is to be expected since hearing loss statistics show that most hearing loss in children is due to infections and injuries. Ninety percent of the hearing impaired children have a sensor neural loss.

This is a hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear or the hearing nerve. It can not be corrected surgically or medically although hearing aids can be used. Progress can be made in preventing and treating hearing loss as long as we keep collecting hearing loss statistics.