The Facts About Hearing Loss

09/21/2011
Written by Listen Team

On Saturday, October 15 the Listen Trek Team will participate in the Salt Lake Walk4Hearing. It’s a great event that does so much to serve those with hearing loss. More importantly, it’s an important opportunity to be a part of eradicating the stigma associated with hearing loss and helping to raise public awareness about the need for prevention, treatment, and regular screenings throughout life.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) has compiled some facts about hearing loss and well, WOW! they are quite sobering. Any one of these would be reason enough to want to get involved – don’t you think?

What strikes me is the ripple effect – not only is the individual affected – it’s their family members, friends, colleagues, and the paths of those they cross day to day.

Approximately 17% (36 million) of American adults report some degree of hearing loss.

There is a strong relationship between age and reported hearing loss: 18% of American adults 45-64 years old, 30% of adults 65-74 years old, and 47% of adults 75 years old or older have a hearing impairment.

About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the US are born deaf or hard-of-hearing. 9 out of every 10 children who are born deaf are born to parents who can hear.

Men are more likely to experience hearing loss than women.

Of adults ages 65 and older in the US, 12.3% of men and nearly 14% of women are affected by tinnitus. Tinnitus is identified more frequently in white individuals and the prevalence of tinnitus is almost twice as frequent in the South as in the Northeast.

The NIDCD estimates that approximately 15% (26 million) of American between the ages of 20 and 69 have high-frequency hearing loss due to exposure to loud sounds or noise at work or in leisure activities.

Only 1 out of 5 people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one.

3 out of 4 children experience ear infection (otitis media) by the time they are 3 years old.
Roughly 25 million Americans have experienced tinnitus.

Approximately 188,000 people worldwide have received cochlear implants. In the US, roughly 41,500 adults and 25,500 children have received them.

Approximately 4,000 new cases of sudden deafness occur each year in the US. Hearing loss affects only 1 ear in 9 out of 10 people who experience sudden deafness. Only 10% to 15% of patients with sudden deafness know what causes their hearing loss.

Approximately 615,000 individuals have been diagnosed with Mènières disease in the US. Another 45,500 are newly diagnosed each year.

Approximately 3% to 6% of all deaf children and perhaps another 3% to 6% of hard-of-hearing children have Usher syndrome. In developed countries such as the US, about 4 babies in every 100,000 births have Usher syndrome.

1 out of every 100,000 individuals per year develops an acoustic neurinoma (vestibular schwannoma).

If you’re wondering how you can help visit www.Walk4Hearing.org or http://www.hearingloss.org/. Join the cause!

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