Hearing Loss Statistics

Hearing loss occurs for many reasons, including genetic disorders, noise, and trauma. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide report hearing loss, including millions of Americans. 

No matter the cause of hearing loss, people in the U.S. are more likely to experience hearing loss as they age. Many people with hearing loss, especially older Americans, could benefit from hearing aids.

Key Takeaways:

• Around 48 million Americans have some level of hearing loss.
• The number of U.S. adults with hearing loss is expected to rise from about 15% of the adult American population in 2020 to 22.6% in 2060.
• Men are more often affected by hearing loss than women at any age. In 2022, fewer American women (13.6%) ages 18 and older reported hearing loss than men in that age group (17.6%).
• The most common cause of acquired hearing loss is noise, with more than 25% of hearing loss cases related to excessive noise.
• Relatively few people 70 years of age and older with hearing loss use hearing aids. Less than one-third of Americans in that age bracket who could benefit from hearing aids use them.

Hearing Loss Statistics

Hearing loss impacts 1.5 billion people worldwide, with over a billion reporting mild severity, according to the World Health Organization. Whether caused by genetics, disease, or another factor, any degree of hearing loss presents numerous challenges for the person affected. 

• Of the 1.5 billion people with hearing loss worldwide, 1.16 billion have mild severity.
• Mild hearing loss is the most common level of hearing loss among Americans ages 12 and older, affecting 25.4 million people. However, older people experience hearing loss more often and at more severe levels than their younger counterparts.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that hearing loss is twice as prevalent as cancer or diabetes in the U.S. and ranks as the third-most common chronic health condition.
• Having some level of hearing loss can increase the risk of dementia, with severe hearing impairment demonstrating the strongest correlation with dementia.

How Many Americans Have Hearing Loss?

In the U.S., around 48 million people have some level of hearing loss. In 2022, 15.5% of American adults ages 18 and over had hearing difficulty, an increase from 14.4% in 2021.

Projections show that hearing loss will continue to become more common in the U.S. By 2060, around 73.5 million Americans ages 20 and older are expected to experience hearing loss. This means that the percentage of U.S. adults with hearing loss will rise from about 15% in 2020 to 22.6% in 2060. In addition, the number of Americans with moderate or greater hearing loss will grow more quickly than those with mild hearing loss.

Hearing Loss by Age

Hearing loss is relatively uncommon among children ages 5 and younger but becomes significantly more common at age 6. 

Among Americans who experience hearing loss at some point in their lives, the onset of hearing loss typically occurs between the ages of 20 and 59, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. An equal share of American men (32%) begin to experience hearing loss from ages 20 to 39 and 40 to 59. However, the percentage of American women who initially experience hearing loss jumps dramatically between those two age brackets, from 20% to 30%, respectively.

Overall, hearing loss is more common among men. More men ages 18 and older (17.6%) reported hearing loss compared with women of the same age (13.6%) in 2022.

Age-related hearing loss is the primary cause of hearing loss among U.S. adults. 

Almost half of people older than 75 have some difficulty hearing, and projections indicate that the number of older adults in the U.S. who experience hearing loss will increase greatly in the future. In 2060, it’s expected that at least 67.4% of adults with hearing loss will be 70 years of age or older. In 2020, the share of U.S. adults with hearing loss who were 70 years or older was only 55.4%.

More severe cases of hearing loss also become far more common with age. The percentage of Americans who experience bilateral hearing loss—i.e., some degree of hearing loss in both ears—is more than double among the cohort of those who are 60 to 69 years old than among those who are 50 to 59 years old.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Hearing Loss?

An individual may have hearing loss at birth, known as congenital hearing loss, or experience hearing loss after birth, known as acquired hearing loss. Noise causes more than a quarter of acquired hearing loss.

How Many Americans Could Benefit From Hearing Aids?

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimated that 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from the use of hearing aids based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015. 

However, among Americans ages 70 and older with hearing loss who could benefit from hearing aids, fewer than 30% indicated ever having used them. Even fewer adults between the ages of 20 and 69 (16%) who might benefit from hearing aids reported using them.

In 2019, only 7.1% of adults ages 45 and older reported using a hearing aid. Adults ages 65 and older were over six times more likely to have used a hearing aid than adults ages 45 to 64. It’s important to note that hearing loss becomes more common with age, with about 68% of people in their 70s and 90% of people in their 80s living with hearing loss.

Types of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is classified into four different types: conductive, sensorineural, mixed, and central auditory processing disorder. In addition, hearing loss ranges in degree from mild to severe, depending on the lowest decibel someone is able to process.

Sensorineural hearing loss accounts for more cases of hearing loss than any other hearing loss type, and the U.S. sees around 66,000 new sudden sensorineural hearing loss cases each year. Conductive hearing loss, however, impacts more children and typically leads to temporary loss of hearing. The degree of conductive hearing loss is often mild, and its root cause is often an infection.

FAQ

What percentage of the population has hearing loss?

Around 48 million people in the U.S. have hearing issues, with 15% of American adults reporting some hearing trouble.

What is the average age for hearing loss?

The probability of hearing loss increases rapidly with age. Figures show that the percentage of people with bilateral hearing loss jumps from 3.4% for people ages 40 to 49 to 11.2% for those ages 50 to 59.

What is the most common cause of hearing loss?

Aging and noise exposure are two of the most common causes of hearing loss in the U.S. About one-third of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 report having trouble hearing.¹⁰ In a 2011–2012 study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that between 10 and 40 million U.S. adults under the age of 70 had hearing loss in one or both ears resulting from exposure to loud sounds.

Is hearing loss getting worse?

Yes, hearing loss appears to be getting worse in the U.S. As of 2020, just over 44 million Americans ages 20 and older suffered from hearing loss. This number is expected to increase to 73.5 million by 2060.

Why do people wait to seek hearing loss treatment?

Multiple barriers may prevent people with hearing loss from seeking treatment. Many people doubt that a hearing aid’s cost is worth the level of hearing improvement they will experience by using it. Additionally, people do not want to be perceived as old because they use hearing aids.

Sources

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”Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Evaluated June 8, 2024.

Goman, A., Reed, N., & Lin, F. “Addressing Estimated Hearing Loss in Adults in 2060.” JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. Evaluated June 8, 2024.

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^”Sooriyamoorthy, T. & Jesus, O. ”Conductive Hearing Loss.” StatPearls. Evaluated June 8, 2024.

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