A July 2023 JAMA Open Network study reports that more than 65 percent of people in a representative population survey ages 71 years or older had hearing loss, and by age 90 years, more than 96 percent had hearing loss.
A December 2023 Lancet Healthy Longevity report says the regular use of hearing aids among adults with hearing loss is associated with a 24 percent cut in risk of early death.
When unaddressed, hearing loss impacts many aspects of life at individual level:
communication and speech;
cognition;
social isolation, loneliness and stigma;
impact on society and economy;effects on years lived with disability (YDLs) and disability adjusted life years (DALYs); and
education and employment: In developing countries, children with hearing loss and deafness often do not receive schooling. Adults with hearing loss also have a much higher unemployment rate. Among those who are employed, a higher percentage of people with hearing loss are in the lower grades of employment compared with the general workforce.
Rehabilitation helps people with hearing loss to function at their optimum, which means they can be as independent as possible in everyday activities. Specifically, rehabilitation helps them to participate in education, work, recreation and meaningful roles, e.g. in their families or communities–throughout their lives. Interventions for rehabilitation for people with hearing loss include:
the provision of, and training in the use of, hearing technologies (e.g. hearing aids, cochlear implants and middle ear implants);
speech and language therapy to enhance perceptive skills and develop communication and linguistic abilities; training in the use of sign language and other means of sensory substitution (e.g. speech reading, use of print on palm, Tadoma, signed communication);
the provision of hearing assistive technology, and services (e.g. frequency modulation and loop systems, alerting devices, telecommunication devices, captioning services and sign language interpretation); and
counselling, training and support to enhance engagement in education, work and community life.
If you have a concern about your own hearing, or that of a loved one, the first step is to call for a hearing assessment.
