Hearing Loss & Tinnitus Statistics

Hearing and balance conditions are an invisible public health epidemic. 48 million people in the United States and 477 million worldwide live with hearing loss.

Hearing Loss: By the Numbers

  • Nearly half of people older than age 75 and approximately one third of those ages 64 to 75 have a hearing loss.

  • Hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic health condition facing older adults.

  • An estimated 12.5 of children in the U.S. ages 6 to 19 show evidence of noise-induced hearing loss.

  • For every 10 dB decrease in hearing, there is a significant decrease in cognitive ability.

  • More than 90 percent of children born with hearing loss have parents with typical hearing.

  • 3 in 1000 babies born in the U.S. have a hearing loss.


Treatment Is Essential, but Underutilized

  • Hearing aids show a significant benefit to individuals with hearing loss.

  • About 80 percent of hearing loss cases can be treated with hearing aids, but only one in four individuals who could benefit actually use them.

  • Hearing aid usage may offset cognitive decline from untreated hearing loss.

  • Older adults who use hearing aids show reduced depression symptoms and improved quality of life.

  • The risk of dementia may be up to five times greater and the risk of falling three times greater among people with untreated hearing loss.


Tinnitus: By the Numbers

  • 90 percent of tinnitus cases occur with an underlying hearing loss.

  • Tinnitus repeatedly ranks as the number one disability among returning military service members, just ahead of hearing loss.

  • 25 million American adults report experiencing tinnitus for five or more continuous minutes in the past year.

  • There are no documented cures for tinnitus, but many treatments can help.

  • 16 million people seek medical attention for tinnitus annually.


Noise Puts Us at Tremendous Risk for Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

  • 26 million people in U.S. between ages 20-69 have a hearing loss.

  • 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels annually.

  • Nearly 50% of persons aged 12-35 years could be exposed to unsafe noise from personal listening devices, and 40% in this age group could be exposed to potentially damaging levels of sound at entertainment venues.

  • Musicians are 400% more likely to have a hearing loss and 57% more likely to have tinnitus than the general public.


Sources


Hearing Health Foundation is committed to better treatments and cures for hearing loss and tinnitus through groundbreaking research. 

 

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