Hearing Loss Facts and Demographics

If you suffer from hearing loss, know that you are not alone!

• Hearing loss is a major public health issue that is the third most common physical condition after arthritis and heart disease.

• An estimated 48 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss.

• At age 65, one out of three people has a hearing loss.

• 60 percent of the people with hearing loss are in the work force or educational settings.

• While people in the workplace with the mildest hearing losses show little or no drop in income compared to their normal hearing peers, as the hearing loss increases, so does the reduction in compensation.

• About 2-3 of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable hearing loss in one or both ears.

• Almost 15% of school-age children (ages 6-19) have some degree of hearing loss.(Source: HLAA; Basic Facts)

For more hearing loss stats and facts, visit:

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD):
Quick Statistics About Hearing

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Hearing Loss in Children

Article by Johns Hopkins University researchers Frank Lin, Ph.D. and John Niparko, M.D.: Hearing Loss Prevalence in the United States