7 Hearing Loss Facts and Statistics at a Glance (as reported)
Hearing loss is a common physical condition. It can cause plenty of issues, especially because hearing loss sometimes goes unnoticed for a while. Along with the effects being sometimes tough to notice, most people just don’t want to believe their hearing has been damaged or that hearing loss could affect them. Thinking in that way leads to hearing loss being ignored or un-noticed so the problem just continues to develop without any solution in sight.
The numbers don’t lie though, and they say that hearing loss is common. They also say most of us will be affected at some time in our lives. Let’s take a look at some of these numbers and statistics now, maybe it’ll help you figure out whether your hearing needs testing. Remember you can only find the solution to your hearing woes once you’ve discovered what your hearing woes actually are.
7 Facts and Statistics for Hearing Loss
15% of Adults Report Hearing Damage
So many people believe they’ll never suffer hearing loss or that it’s a rare problem to suffer. As you can see from the statistics, hearing loss really can’t be called rare. A lot of the time the damage is minor, which is why people think it’s rare – after all, they don’t know they can’t hear something because, well, because they can’t hear it!
Age Matters!
Disabling hearing loss is the term used when hearing is bad enough to affect day-to-day life. This type of hearing loss is rare at younger ages but jumps up to 8.5% for ages 55-64, and all the way up to 50% at 75 and older.
Men Twice as Likely to Suffer as Women
With all other things being equal, a man is twice as likely to suffer hearing loss as a woman. The reasons for this aren’t totally known yet, though it could be linked to genetics, evolution or even lifestyle factors.
25% of Americans Have Experienced Tinnitus Recently
This refers to Americans who have experienced noticeable tinnitus for at least 5 minutes or more over the past year. Experiencing tinnitus for a brief time period isn’t much of a concern but it could still be a symptom of deeper problems within the ear. If tinnitus persists or keeps on coming back, be sure to get it checked out.
90%+ of Deaf Children are Born to Hearing Parents
Once again this shows how unpredictable hearing loss and damage can be. A lot of people believe being born deaf is related to genetic factors and likely to happen when both parents are deaf, with much lower chances if both parents can hear. This is not true at all, with most deaf children being born to hearing parents.
Hearing Loss Has a Financial Impact
Some people believe the only financial impact is the cost of treatment. This isn’t true. Damaged hearing affects a persons ability to work and earn money, with an estimate of $12,000 lost each year on average. That’s a massive amount, enough to cover treatment and still have plenty left over!
Less than 20% of Sufferers Use Hearing Aids
When you consider the previous point about lost income, this statistic is even more surprising. Around 1 in 5 Americans has suffered hearing damage, yet less than 20% of them are actually using hearing aids. Even in the 70+ age bracket, less than 30% of people who have hearing loss are actually using hearing aids.
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