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Hearing loss

Authoring team

Hearing loss is a major public health issue affecting about 9 million people in England

  • because age-related hearing loss is the most common type of hearing loss, it is estimated that by 2035 there will be around 13 million people with hearing loss in England - a fifth of the population
  • the psychological, financial and health burden of hearing loss can be reduced by prompt and accurate referral, robust assessment and correct management

hearing loss (2,3)

  • may occur at any age
  • impairs verbal communication
  • may be unilateral or bilateral
  • can be classified as :
    • conductive - lesions in the outer or middle ear
    • sensorineural -lesions in the inner ear or auditory nerve
    • mixed - both, conductive and sensorineural hearing loss involved
    • central - caused by lesions along the auditory pathway or in the brain

The prevalence of deafness based on age group has been stated (4):

 

Data table showing the prevalence of hearing loss across different age groups for thresholds of ≥25 dB and ≥65 dB.

Notes:

Normal Hearing

-10-26 dB

Mild Hearing Impairment

27-40 dB

Moderate Hearing Impairment

41-55 dB

Moderately Severe Impairment

56-70 dB

Severe Hearing Impairment

71-90 dB

Profound Hearing Impairment

>= 91 dB

Reference:

  1. NICE. Hearing loss in adults: assessment and management. NICE guideline NG98. Published June 2018, last updated October 2023
  2. Isaacson B. Hearing loss. Med Clin North Am. 2010 Sep;94(5):973-88
  3. Chandrasekhar SS, Tsai Do BS, Schwartz SR, et al. Clinical Practice Guideline: Sudden Hearing Loss (Update). Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2019 Aug;161(1_suppl):S1-S45.
  4. NHS England. Hearing loss data tool 2019 https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/joint-strategic-needs-assessment-toolkit/2016

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