500 million hearing-impaired people

Did you know that one out of ten people has a hearing loss and could benefit from using hearing instruments? This is shown by various surveys. Nobody knows the exact number of hearing-impaired people in the world, but experts estimate that the figure is about 500 million.

The personal consequences of untreated hearing loss are far-reaching which also means that the costs to society are high.

• The British Royal National Institute for Deaf People estimates that 6.5 per cent of the working population are hard of hearing. The survey also shows that ear protectors are seldom used.
• A survey in the USA shows that the percentage of hearing-impaired people who use hearing instruments is actually declining.
• The Danish Institute for Social Research has prepared a report which finds that 13 per cent of the Danish adult population have hearing problems.

Read more about these facts & figures on the non-commercial website www.hear-it.org.