deafness

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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)

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 (3)

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

Notes:

degrees of Hearing Loss (5):

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 (June 2018). Hearing loss in adults: assessment and management
(2) differential diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss ,Jon E. Isaacson, american family physician
(3) universal newborn hearing screening, Stevens Wrightson, american family physician, May 1, 2007, Vol. 75: No. 9
(4) NHS England. Hearing loss data tool 2019 https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/joint-strategic-needs-assessment-toolkit/2016 Accessed July 14th 2020
(5) Katz, J. Handbook of Clinical Audiology, Williams and Wilkins, 1985.

Last edited 07/2020 and last reviewed 07/2020

Links:

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

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