Hearing loss affected an estimated 1.57 billion people worldwide in 2019, or 20.3% of the global population. The scale depends on the definition: estimates range from any loss at or above 20 dB to disabling loss above 35 dB in the better-hearing ear.
Key Hearing Loss Statistics
The following figures summarize the most broadly useful measures across global, U.S. and childhood populations:
- In 2019, 1.57 billion people worldwide had some hearing loss, according to a Global Burden of Disease estimate.
- In 2019, 20.3% of the global population had hearing loss, with a 95% uncertainty interval of 19.5%–21.1%.
- By 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some hearing loss worldwide.
- About 430 million people currently require rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss globally, including 34 million children.
- Around 95.1 million children aged 5–19 worldwide live with hearing loss.
- In 2019, 1.17 billion people had mild hearing loss globally, representing 74.3% of estimated cases.
- Moderate-to-complete hearing-loss cases increased from 225.3 million in 1990 to 403.3 million in 2019 worldwide.
- In 2019, the Western Pacific region had 127.1 million moderate-to-complete cases.
- About 13% of U.S. people aged 12 or older have hearing loss in both ears, or approximately 30 million people.
- Disabling hearing loss affected about 55% of U.S. adults aged 75 and older in the 2015–2020 NHANES-based calculation.
- About 25 million U.S. adults experienced tinnitus lasting at least five minutes during the previous year.
- About 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from hearing aids, based on NIDCD modelling.
- More than 98% of U.S. newborns were screened for hearing loss in 2022.
- More than 6,000 U.S. infants born in 2022 were identified with permanent hearing loss.
- Hearing loss accounted for 43.4 million years lived with disability worldwide in 2019.
- Among U.S. adults aged 18 or older in 2020, 12.3% had some difficulty hearing even when using a hearing aid.
- More than 1 million cochlear implants had been implanted worldwide by July 2022.
Contents
- Global hearing loss scale and projections
- Prevalence by severity, age and region
- U.S. adult hearing loss and hearing-aid data
- Childhood hearing loss and newborn screening
- Disability burden and daily functioning
- Costs, rehabilitation and implanted devices
Global Hearing Loss Statistics: Scale and Projections
The World Health Organization and GBD study measure different thresholds and populations. WHO’s rehabilitation figures concern disabling hearing loss, while the GBD total includes hearing loss meeting its reference definition.
- The GBD 2019 estimate was 1.57 billion people, with a 95% uncertainty interval of 1.51–1.64 billion. The corresponding prevalence was 20.3%, with a 95% uncertainty interval of 19.5%–21.1%.
- WHO estimates that more than 5% of the world population requires rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss, defined as greater than 35 dB in the better-hearing ear.
- WHO’s current estimate is about 430 million people requiring rehabilitation, including 34 million children.
- WHO projects nearly 2.5 billion people with some hearing loss by 2050, and more than 700 million people requiring hearing rehabilitation. The latter is a rehabilitation-need projection, not a count of everyone with any hearing loss.
- Around 95.1 million children aged 5–19 years live with hearing loss worldwide, according to WHO.
- More than 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent avoidable hearing loss from unsafe listening practices. This is a risk estimate, not a prevalence count.
Sources: WHO, “Deafness and hearing loss” and GBD 2019 hearing loss study.
WHO estimates that scaling up ear and hearing care requires less than US$1.40 additional investment per person annually and could return nearly US$16 over 10 years for every US$1 invested. These are model-based investment estimates, not individual treatment prices.
Hearing Loss Prevalence by Severity, Age and World Region
Severity thresholds materially change the reported count. The GBD study used at least 20 dB for one prevalence measure and at least 35 dB in the better-hearing ear for moderate-to-complete loss.
| GBD measure | 2019 result | Definition or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing loss at or above 20 dB | 19.3% age-standardized prevalence | Global, modelled estimate |
| Moderate-to-complete loss at or above 35 dB | 5.1% age-standardized prevalence | Better-hearing ear |
| Mild hearing loss | 1.17 billion people; 74.3% of cases | Global, modelled category |
| Moderate-or-worse loss, hearing-aid adjusted | 403.3 million people | Global estimate |
The hearing-aid-adjusted estimate was 403.3 million people with moderate-or-worse hearing loss in 2019. Without that adjustment, 430.4 million people had moderate-to-complete loss in the better-hearing ear.
- Moderate-to-complete cases rose from 225.3 million in 1990 to 403.3 million in 2019, a study-reported modelled increase of 79.1%.
- The Western Pacific region had 127.1 million moderate-to-complete cases in 2019, with a 95% uncertainty interval of 112.3–142.6 million.
- South-East Asia had 103.4 million cases in 2019, with a 95% uncertainty interval of 90.9–115.4 million.
- The Region of the Americas had 58.8 million cases in 2019, with a 95% uncertainty interval of 51.7–66.2 million.
These regional figures are GBD model estimates rather than direct headcounts from one survey. The study’s peer-reviewed results should be read alongside its thresholds and uncertainty intervals.
U.S. Adult Hearing Loss, Tinnitus and Hearing-Aid Statistics
U.S. measures combine audiometric examinations, survey responses and modelled eligibility. They should not be treated as one interchangeable prevalence series.
| U.S. population or measure | Result | Period and method |
|---|---|---|
| People aged 12+ with bilateral loss | About 30 million; 13% | NIDCD summary of standard examinations |
| Adults 45–54 with disabling loss | About 5% | 2015–2020 NHANES-based calculation |
| Adults 55–64 with disabling loss | About 10% | 2015–2020 NHANES-based calculation |
| Adults 65–74 with disabling loss | About 22% | 2015–2020 NHANES-based calculation |
| Adults 75+ with disabling loss | About 55% | 2015–2020 NHANES-based calculation |
NIDCD defines the disabling-loss age estimates using at least 35 dB in the better ear. Its Quick Statistics About Hearing, Balance, & Dizziness page reports the following related measures:
- About 25 million U.S. adults, roughly 10% of adults, experienced tinnitus lasting at least five minutes in the previous year.
- A 2022 systematic-review summary estimated 14.4% of adults worldwide had experienced tinnitus; tinnitus is not the same measure as audiometrically measured hearing loss.
- About 28.8 million U.S. adults could benefit from hearing aids, a modelled eligibility concept rather than confirmed purchase need or prescription.
- Fewer than one in three, or about 30% of U.S. adults aged 70 and older who could benefit from hearing aids, had ever used them. This is an ever-use measure and does not establish current or consistent use.
Childhood Hearing Loss Statistics and Newborn Screening
Childhood figures vary because newborn screening, audiometric testing and parent-reported surveys use different populations and thresholds. The CDC’s Data and Statistics About Hearing Loss in Children provides the following measures.
- In 2022, more than 98% of U.S. newborns were screened for hearing loss.
- More than 6,000 U.S. infants born in 2022 were identified with permanent hearing loss, and identified loss was 1.7 per 1,000 babies screened.
- The CDC’s 2020 Hearing Screening and Follow-up Survey reported 1.8 cases per 1,000 infants screened; it excluded cases never reported to EHDI programs.
- NHANES III estimated 15.2% of U.S. children and adolescents aged 12–19 had low- or high-frequency hearing loss of at least 16 dB in one or both ears during 1988–2010.
- NHIS estimated 0.6% of U.S. children aged 3–17 had moderate-to-profound hearing loss without a hearing aid in 2015–2018, using parent report.
- Population-based studies in Europe and North America found approximately 0.1% of children had hearing loss above 40 dB.
Etiology estimates are conditional and should not be confused with screening prevalence. Genetic factors account for 50%–60% of children with hearing loss; about 20% of babies with genetic hearing loss have a syndrome such as Down syndrome or Usher syndrome, while infections during pregnancy, other environmental causes and post-birth complications account for almost 30% of babies with hearing loss.
Hearing Loss Disability Burden and Functional Outcomes
Years lived with disability measure population health burden rather than individual years of life lost. In GBD 2019 data, hearing loss accounted for 43.4 million YLDs worldwide.
- Females accounted for 21.4 million hearing-loss YLDs in 2019, while males accounted for 22.0 million.
- Hearing loss represented 28% of cumulative YLDs from listed physical impairments in both sexes, 25% among females and 32% among males.
- Hearing-loss YLDs increased 18.7% in both sexes from 2010 to 2019; the increase was 19.8% for females and 17.7% for males.
- Children aged 0–14 accounted for 3.13 million YLDs, or 7.2% of hearing-loss YLDs across all ages, in 2019.
Among young adults aged 21–25 identified with childhood hearing loss, about 40% reported at least one daily-functioning limitation. About 71% of those without related conditions were employed; this longitudinal subgroup result is not a causal estimate for all young adults.
The peer-reviewed burden analysis notes that the impairment shares use the study’s listed physical-impairment denominator.
Hearing Loss Costs, Rehabilitation and Cochlear Implants
Historical U.S. cost estimates use different dollar years and exclusions, so they should not be compared with current prices without an explicit inflation adjustment.
| Cost or intervention measure | Reported result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Special-education programs | $652 million | U.S., 1999–2000 school year |
| Special-education cost per child | $11,006 | Same historical U.S. estimate |
| Lifetime educational cost | $115,600 per child | 2007 dollars; permanent loss above 40 dB, no other disabilities |
| Projected lifetime cost | $2.1 billion | U.S. birth cohort born in 2000; 2003 dollars |
For the 2000 U.S. birth cohort, direct medical costs represented 6% of projected lifetime costs, direct nonmedical expenses 30% and indirect costs 63%. The historical model excluded several listed expenses, including outpatient visits and interpreters.
Current functional data also depend on self-report. The CDC’s 2020 NHIS QuickStats found that 12.3% of U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized adults aged 18 or older had some difficulty hearing even when using a hearing aid, while 1.5% had a lot of difficulty or could not hear at all.
By age, some difficulty despite hearing-aid use affected 6.0% of adults aged 18–44, 12.6% aged 45–64 and 25.0% aged 65 or older in 2020. A lot of difficulty or inability to hear affected 0.5%, 1.6% and 3.7% in those same age groups.
More than 1 million cochlear implants had been implanted worldwide by July 2022. In the United States, manufacturer reports through December 2019 indicated roughly 118,100 implants in adults and 65,000 in children; NIDCD notes these figures were based on voluntary reports of registered devices to the FDA.
These rehabilitation and device counts describe service use or reported implantation, not the total number of people who could benefit from intervention.