Hearing loss is more common than many people realize and the adoption of hearing aid use in the past decade has increased greatly among patients. The stigma associated with hearing loss and hearing aids has been lessening as well. Below are some of the more recent statistics in regards to the prevalence of hearing loss and hearing aid users’ success.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and the World Health Organization (WHO):
- Approximately 15% of adults in the US report some degree of hearing loss with age being the strongest predictor and prevalence increasing steadily once people reach 60 years of age.
- A 2023 survey found that nearly two-thirds of adults 71 and older had hearing loss. By age 90, nearly everyone (96.2%) had hearing loss.
- The same survey found that only 29.2% of those with hearing loss used hearing aids.
- Adult men in their 50s are three times as likely to have hearing loss than women of the same age, but as they age, hearing loss rates become similar between the genders.
Research surveys among hearing aid users found::
- In 2022, 83% of survey respondents were satisfied with their hearing aids.
- The average age of a person buying hearing aids is younger than many expect, usually around 60 years of age.
- Nine out of ten people who wear hearing aids report “high satisfaction” with their audiologists, doctors of audiology who specialize in diagnosing and treating hearing loss.
- The average time frame of acknowledging hearing loss and purchasing hearing aids used to be approximately 7 years. It has now decreased significantly to about 4 years.
- The addition of rechargeability, bluetooth technology, as well as virtually invisible styles has decreased the stigma over time. Compared to older surveys, far fewer people report feeling embarrassed or rejected due to their hearing aids.
- It was also found that those with hearing difficulty have higher rates of many common conditions and are over 3.5 times more likely to have tinnitus, exhibit cognitive decline, as well as falling/balance issues.
- The risk of cognitive decline and depression is greater in people who don’t wear hearing aids, and that increases with increasing severity of hearing loss.
