Did you know?

Facts and figures about deafness in the UK

How many people are affected?

• Almost 9 million people in the UK, one in seven of the population, suffer from deafness or experience significant hearing difficulty.
• Hearing loss is the most common sensory disability in the developed world and is one of the major reasons for people to be referred to hospital.

Childhood deafness

• Ear problems account for a third of visits to the family doctor in a child's first 18 months of life.
• Almost every day, two babies are born with a clinically significant hearing loss.
• 840 babies are born every year with impaired hearing in both ears.
• More than half of all deaf babies are not identified until they are 18 months old.
• Over 50% of all cases of born-deaf children are due to genetic causes.
• 80% of all pre-school children suffer from glue ear at some time.
• Glue ear is the most common reason for pre-school children to visit their family doctor.
• Around half of all cases of glue ear will persist for over three months.

Noise and children

• Children's toys can produce sound levels of up to 80-110 dBA.
• Around six per cent of children are thought to suffer hyperacusis (an over-sensitivity to noise).

Noise at work

• Around 1.1 million people are exposed to potentially damaging noise levels in the workplace and a further 170,000 already suffer from noise-related hearing disorders.
• According to health and safety regulations, employers must take action if workplace noise exceeds 80 dBA.

Noise and leisure

• The Medical Research Council's Institute of Hearing Research has found that 18.8% of young people are exposed to loud music for long enough to constitute a hazard to hearing.
• 70 to 80% of people who visit nightclubs will experience temporary tinnitus, potentially causing longer-term hearing problems.

Tinnitus

• About 10% of adults (4.7 million people) have experienced tinnitus for longer than five minutes. This figure does not include people who have had tinnitus for a short time after being exposed to a loud noise.
• About 5% of adults (2.3 million people) have tinnitus, which they find severely or moderately annoying.
• About 5% of adults (2.3 million people) have tinnitus, which makes it difficult for them to sleep.
• About 1% of adults (470,000 people) have tinnitus that has a severe effect on their quality of life
• About 0.5% of adults (230,000 people) have tinnitus which has a severe effect on their ability to lead a normal life.
• 7% of adults (3.3 million people) have been to see their doctor about tinnitus.

Technology

• In the UK there are around 2 million people who would benefit from using hearing aids, but they are only used by 1.4 million.
• 5 million people in the UK could benefit from improved hearing aids.
• Around 130,000 people worldwide have now received a cochlear implant, and 4,000 have received bilateral implants. There are about 5,600 implant users in the UK.

Deafness in later life

• Age-related hearing loss normally begins at around 50, and 55 per cent of people over 60 are deaf or hard of hearing.

Causes of deafness

• 87% of all deafness results from damage to the sensitive hair cells within the inner ear or cochlea. This is known as sensorineural deafness.
• Sensorineural deafness can be caused by exposure to loud noise, prescribed medicines (including some antibiotics) or simply through old age.

The social impact of deafness

• People with acquired hearing loss may experience disassociation from their environment due to the absence of everyday background sounds. This feeling of being 'cut off' from the world can lead to depression. Confidence can be eroded causing people to avoid social contact.
• In cases of profound acquired deafness, speech may be affected, adding to communication difficulties.
• Despite legislation, maintaining, or gaining, employment may be problematic.
• Access to public places may be restricted due to a lack of facilities; for example a many hearing aids user require a loop system before they can follow a film.
• Deaf people may be more at risk in public places due to a lack of visual or tactile alarm systems.
• Difficulties with the use of telecommunications can mean that deaf people find it difficult to access sources of information.

Fun facts

• The middle ear is no bigger than an M&M.
• The cochlea (inner ear) is about the size of a pencil eraser.
• The ear never stops working. Even when people are asleep, the ear continues to hear sounds, but the brain shuts them out.
• In Africa, a tribe of people call Maabans live in such quiet that they can hear a whisper from across a baseball field.