Key facts
- By 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing loss, and at least 700 million will require hearing rehabilitation.
- Over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.
- An annual additional investment of less than US$ 1.40 per person is needed to scale up ear and hearing care services globally.
- Over a 10-year period, this promises a return of nearly US$ 16 for every US dollar invested.
Overview
Over 5% of the world’s population – or 430 million people – require rehabilitation to address their disabling hearing loss (including 34 million children). It is estimated that by 2050 over 700 million people –
or 1 in every 10 people – will have disabling hearing loss.
Disabling hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 35 decibels (dB) in the better hearing ear. Nearly 80% of people with disabling hearing loss live in low- and middle-income countries. The prevalence of hearing loss increases
with age, among those older than 60 years, over 25% are affected by disabling hearing loss.
Hearing loss and deafness
A person who is not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing – hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears – is said to have hearing loss. Hearing loss may be mild, moderate, severe or profound. It can affect one ear
or both ears and leads to difficulty in hearing conversational speech or loud sounds.
Hard of hearing refers to people with hearing loss ranging from mild to severe. People who are hard of hearing usually communicate through spoken language and can benefit from hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive devices as well
as captioning.
Deaf people mostly have profound hearing loss, which implies very