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Facts on hearing impairment

Here you can find facts and figures on hearing impairment.
One out of ten people has a hearing loss and would benefit from using hearing aids. British MRC, Institute of Hearing Research, estimates that the total number of people with a hearing loss of more than 25 dB will exceed 560 million by 2005.

The increase in the number of hearing impaired people is primarily the result of noisy surroundings and an ageing population.

In Europe, 70 million are hearing-impaired, and in North America the figure is estimated at around 30 million.

Surveys show that four out of five who actually need hearing aids do not use any. A European study has found that hearing impairment is one of the disabilities that can be treated most inexpensively and with the greatest benefit – for the individual as well as for society.

In 1998, the Swedish Association of Hearing-Impaired People, HRF, published statistics indicating that 51.3 per cent of hearing impaired people in Sweden were under the age of 65.

German figures show that one child out of twenty who start school has a hearing loss.