Audiology FAQs | What is the relationship between age and hearing loss?

What is the relationship between age & hearing loss?

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Many people assume that hearing loss is only for older people. This assumption is incorrect. Hearing loss can accrue at any age due to different causes. Babies are born with hearing loss due to a genetic problem or some kind of diseases that their mother acquired mostly within the first trimester of their pregnancy. There are many children in elementary & secondary school that have different degrees of hearing loss. I will mention a few statistics to clarify as how wide spread hearing loss is & it is not just for older people.

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How widespread is hearing loss?

• One out of 10 Americans has a hearing loss.
• An estimated 500 million experience hearing loss worldwide.
• One out of 12 30-year-old Americans is already hearing-impaired.
• One out of eight 50-year-old Americans suffers from hearing loss.
• Three out of 1000 children are born with hearing loss.
• 1.4 million children in the U.S. have hearing loss.
• The majority (65 percent) of people with hearing loss are below retirement age.
• 15 percent of “baby-boomers” have hearing loss.
• 29 percent of people over age 65 have hearing loss.
• The majority (60 percent) of people with hearing loss are males.
• More than a third of all hearing loss is attributed to noise: loud music, loud workplaces & loud recreational equipment.

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