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:
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.
Related pages
Create an account to add page annotations
Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page