One in Five Americans Has Hearing Loss

Applying the World Health Organization’s definition for hearing loss (not being able to hear sounds of 25 decibels or less in the speech frequencies), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Maryland, USA) researchers completed the first (US) nationally representative estimate of hearing loss, which suggests that many more people than previously thought are affected by this condition.  Frank Lin and colleagues used data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES), and analyzed data from all participants age 12 and over whose hearing was tested during NHANES examinations from 2001 to 2008. The researchers found that overall, about 30 million Americans, or 12.7% of the population, had hearing loss in both ears. That number jumps to about 48 million, or 20.3%, for people who have hearing loss in at least one ear.  As well, the team found that hearing loss prevalence nearly doubled with every age decade.