 |
|
 |
 | |
|
|
- Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in the United States.
- Approximately 10% of the U.S. population or 31 million Americans have a significant hearing loss.
- Approximately 3 million children in the U.S. have a hearing loss; 1.3 million of them are under the age of three.
- By 55 years of age, 25% of people have developed hearing loss. By the time a person reaches the age of 75, over 50% will have some degree of hearing loss.
- By the year 2030, it is estimated that 78 million Americans will have some degree of hearing loss.
- Undetected, hearing loss is likely to interfere with a child's speech, language and communication with others. A mild hearing loss can cause a child to miss as much as 50% of classroom discussion.
- Unidentified hearing loss in children can often be mistaken as Attention-Deficit Disorder, mental retardation, behavioral problems, rudeness, or inattentiveness.
- Individuals with hearing loss have a higher incidence of unemployment, depression, anxiety disorders and stress-related illnesses.
- Hearing loss in the elderly can lead to social and family isolation, depression, low self-esteem and difficulty functioning.
- Hearing loss often develops very slowly over time and as a result many people don't recognize that they have a hearing loss until it has a significant impact on their day-to-day life.
- Age-related and noise-induced hearing loss generally affects one's ability to hear higher frequencies. The higher speech frequencies are responsible for helping us to understand consonants clearly, impairing speech perception.
- Noise is one of the leading causes of hearing loss.
- Exposure to a noisy subway for just 15 minutes a day can cause permanent damage to hearing over time.
- Listening to music through headphones with the player turned more than halfway up can create dangerous volume levels that can result in permanent hearing loss over time.
- Only 16% of physicians routinely screen for hearing loss.
- People with hearing loss wait an average of 7 years before seeking help.
- Hearing aids or cochlear implants can offer dramatic improvement for most people with hearing loss.
- Of those people who could significantly benefit from hearing aids, less than 25% actually have them, and fewer wear them on a regular basis.
|
| |
|
