Two out of three older Americans have a hearing loss
Bilateral hearing loss is widespread among older US individuals. The prevalence and severity increase with age, but hearing aid use is generally low, an American study finds.
In the study, an estimated 65.3% of adults aged 71 years and older had at least some degree of hearing loss. 37% had a mild hearing loss, 24.1% had a moderate hearing loss and 4.2% had a severe hearing loss.
The prevalence of hearing loss was higher among people white, male, lower-income with lower or no education. Hearing loss increased with age with 96.2% of adults aged 90 years and older having a hearing loss.
Use of hearing aids
Among those with hearing loss, 29.2% used hearing aids, with lower hearing aid use among blacks and Hispanics and people with lower income.
About the study
In the study, which had 2,803 participants, prevalence estimates of hearing loss by age, gender, race and ethnicity, education and income were computed using data from the 2021 National Health Aging and Trends Study in the US.
The study, "Prevalence of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use Among US Medicare Beneficiaries Aged 71 Years and Older" was published in JAMA Network Open
Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov and https://jamanetwork.com