4 – Hearing Loss Demographics
Thirty-four million people, or 10 to 12 percent of the United States’ population, live with less than normal hearing, according to The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
This figure breaks down to approximately:
- 300,000-400,000 thousand people who are deaf
- 1 to 1.5 million people who are late-deafened
- Over 32 million people who have hearing loss but are not deaf
Hearing Loss Increases with Age
About one out of every 10 people in the United States has hearing loss, and the percentage increases with increasing age. By the age of 50, perhaps 50 percent of the population has hearing loss, and over age 70 the majority of people have some level of hearing loss.