Hearing Loss Education Center

Connecting people to a world of sound
 
Hearing Loss Education Center
Hearing & Hearing Loss How Hearing Works What Is Hearing Loss? Types & Causes of Hearing Loss Who Has Hearing Loss? Screening & Testing Treatment with Hearing Aids Advanced Treatments for Hearing Loss Communication & Language Choosing the Right Treatment Resources
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Who Has Hearing Loss

38 million people in the United States
have a hearing loss

Hearing problems are extremely common. According to the Center for Hearing and Communication, an estimated 38 million people in the United States have a hearing loss, which is one in every 10 Americans.1

Hearing Loss and Adults

In the United States, it is thought that roughly 14% of the adult population has some hearing difficulty1.  With aging of the world’s population, numbers are growing rapidly. Research shows 30 to 40% of people over the age of 60 have some type of hearing loss; it is believed that this number is higher since people with hearing loss are often embarrassed by the condition and do not report it. Other segments of this population include baby boomers (41 to 59), of which one in every six have hearing loss, or 14.6%,  and Generation Xers (ages 29 to 40), of which one in every 14, or 7.4%, already have hearing loss2.

Research demonstrates the considerable negative social, psychological, cognitive and health effects are found among those whose hearing loss is left untreated. Studies have linked untreated hearing loss to:

  • Irritability, negativism and anger
  • Fatigue, tension, stress and depression
  • Avoidance or withdrawal from social situations
  • Social rejection and loneliness
  • Reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety
  • Impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks
  • Reduced job performance and earning power
  • Diminished psychological and overall health 3

    Hearing Loss and Children

    Among children in the U.S. (under 18 years old), 15% have some degree of hearing loss.3 Nearly one in five of those children has what is termed “educationally significant hearing loss.”4  Findings also show that approximately three per 1000 babies are born with a significant hearing loss, and many more children are born with milder forms of hearing loss.5

     It is widely understood and accepted that hearing is critical for the development of speech, language, communication skills, and learning. The earlier that hearing loss occurs in a child's life, the more serious the effect on the child's development. Similarly, the earlier the hearing loss is identified and intervention begun, the less serious the ultimate effects.

    Recent research indicates that children identified with hearing loss who are fit with appropriate amplification before 6 months old can develop language (spoken or signed) on a par with their hearing peers.6  

    Among children, hearing problems tend to cause:

    • Problems with speech and language development, and thinking skills (especially if severe hearing loss occurs at birth or before speech and language is acquired)
    • Emotional difficulties and low self-esteem
    • Learning and behavior problems in school

    For children who have their hearing loss treated (with either hearing aids, Baha or cochlear implants), some of the benefits may include:

    • Learning how to read near the level of similar aged children with normal hearing
    • Being able to attend mainstream school
    • Communicating with family, friends and teachers using hearing and spoken language
    • Having the greatest opportunity to enjoy success in higher education
    • Achieving successful employment
    • Listening to and even playing music
    • Talking on the phone
    • Participating fully with the hearing world

     

     


    1. Center for Hearing and Communication, 2009. http://www.chchearing.org/about-hearing-loss/facts-about-hearing-loss
    2. Better Hearing Institute. http://www.betterhearing.org/hearing_loss/prevalence.cfm
    3. National Academy on an Aging Society, Hearing Loss: A Growing Problem that Affects the Quality of Life, December, 1999.
    4. Niskar, A.S., et. al. (1998, April 8). Prevalence of hearing loss among children 6 to 19 years of age: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. JAMA, 279(14): 1071-1075.
    5. Hearing Loss Association of America, 2009. http://www.hearingloss.org/learn/factsheets.asp
    6.  American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA)
    http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/treatment/child_aids.htm

     



    		  
       

    Hearing Loss

    For hearing loss, refers to less than average ability to hear and understand sounds due to one or more parts of the hearing system not working properly.

    Hearing Loss

    For hearing loss, refers to problems hearing in both ears, not just one.

    Hearing Loss

    For hearing loss, refers to problems hearing in one, but not both ears

    Mild Hearing Loss

    People with mild hearing loss have some difficulty following speech, mainly in noisy situations; quietest sounds they can hear in their better ear average between 25 and 39 decibels (a standard measure of sound)

    Moderate Hearing Loss

    People with moderate hearing loss have difficulty following speech without a hearing aid; quietest sounds they can hear in their better ear average between 40 and 69 decibels (a standard measure of sound).

    Severe Hearing Loss

    People with severe hearing loss get help from powerful hearing aids, but often rely on lip-reading even when using an aid; quietest sounds they can hear in their better ear average between 70 and 89 decibels (a standard measure of sound).

    Profound Hearing Loss

    People with profound hearing loss mostly rely on lip-reading and/or sign language; the quietest sounds heard in their better ear average from 90 decibels or louder (a standard measure of sound).

    Otosclerosis

    A disease in which bone grows abnormally in the middle ear preventing structures within the ear from working properly and causing hearing loss.

    Cochlea

    Part of the ear that contains both the organ of hearing (the cochlea) and the organ of balance (the labyrinth).

    Feedback

    A high-pitched, sometime painful, whistling sound that occurs when a microphone picks up sound from a nearby speaker and replays it again and again (commonly occurs when a poorly fitting hearing aid earmold allows sound to “leak” from the speaker back into the microphone).

    Assisstive Listening Devices

    Electronic devices or accessories for hearing aids that provide extra help in specific listening situations (telephone, noisy backgrounds, small or large group settings, etc.).

    Sensorineural Hearing Loss

    Hearing loss due to failure of the auditory nerve, also called nerve deafness.

    Mastoid Bone

    A portion of the lower skull bone that contains the inner ear.

    Rehabilitation

    For individuals who previously experienced hearing and get a cochlear implant, the comprehensive training program that “re-teaches” them how to hear and interpret sounds, to recover any lost speech skills, and to properly use the cochlear implant speech processor and controls.

    Habilitation

    For individuals who had not previously experience hearing and get a cochlear implant, the comprehensive training program that teaches them to hear and interpret sounds, to develop or improve speech skills, and to properly use the cochlear implant speech processor and controls.

    Coverage

    For health insurance, coverage involves making sure a health plan or policy pays for the cochlear implant device and related professional services (for example, physician and audiology services). Usually, you go through a preauthorization process. This means getting a guarantee from the health insurance plan that they will pay for the implant and services before getting treatment.

    Billing

    For health insurance, billing involves the process by which health care providers charge, code, and submit their bills (in the form of a claim) to the health insurance company or plan.

    Payment

    For health insurance, payment involves getting the full amount allowed for services given a health plan’s limitations, allowables, deductibles, and co-payments.

    Menieres

    A disorder of the fluid volume of the inner ear that can cause hearing loss, dizziness/vertigo, tinnitus (ringing in the ear), and/or pressure or pain in ear.

    Meningitis

    a viral or bacterial infection that causes inflammation and swelling of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord; among possible serious complications are hearing loss or deafness.

    Mumps

    a viral infection that causes swelling of the salivary glands; sometimes spreads to central nervous system which can result in hearing loss.

    Measles

    a viral infection that causes rash, fever, and cold-like symptoms; sometimes causes complications like ear or brain infections which can result in hearing loss.

    Unilateral

    on one side, but not the other; used to describe a type of hearing loss in which there is normal or somewhat impaired hearing in one ear and little or no hearing in the other ear.

    Unilateral Hearing Loss

    condition in which one ear has little or no hearing ability and the other ear has normal or close to normal hearing. Also referred to as Single Sided Deafness (SSD).

    Osseointegration

    the natural process of bone growing into the titanium fixtures creating a direct connection between an artificial implant and living bone.