1 in 6
The share of U.S. adults who report they have some trouble hearing. The percentage increases with age: It is 5.5 percent among those ages 18 to 39, 19 percent among those ages 40 to 69, and 43.2 percent among those over 70.1.
46 percent
The percentage of people with self-reported hearing loss who have seen a health-care professional about the problem in the last five years.1
10 years
The length of time people wait, on average, between the first signs of hearing loss and seeking treatment.2
11.4 percent
The percentage of adults with self-reported hearing loss who have experienced moderate to severe depression, compared with only 5.9 percent of those without hearing loss.3
>25 dB
The amount of hearing loss (defined as "moderate" hearing loss) associated with increased cognitive decline in adults ages 70–79. People with this moderate hearing loss scored 30 percent to 40 percent lower than their normal-hearing same-age peers on tests of memory, language, executive function and other abilities.4
1 Zelaya, C. E., Lucas, J. W., & Hoffman, H. J. (2015). Self-reported hearing trouble in adults aged 18 and over: United States, 2014 (NCHS Data Brief, No. 214). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
2 Davis A, Smith P, Ferguson M, Stephens D, Gianopoulos I. Acceptability, benefit and costs of early screening for hearing disability: a study of potential screening tests and models. Health Technology Assessment 2007; 11(42): 1-294
3 Li, C. M., Zhang, X., Hoffman, H. J., Cotch, M. F., Themann, C. L., & Wilson, M. R. (2014). Hearing impairment associated with depression in US adults, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2010. JAMA Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, 140(4), 293–302. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2014.42
4 Lin, F. R., Yaffe, K., Xia, J., Xue, Q.-L., Harris, T. B., Purchase-Helzner, E.,... for the Health ABC Study Group. (2013). Hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults. JAMA Internal Medicine, 173(4), 293–299.
