Hearing Loss Statistics

For a person in their 60s, they have a 50% chance of having hearing loss – and this percentage continues to increase with age. Of those people who are deaf/Deaf or have a hearing loss, how many use the spoken language to communicate?  How many use sign language?

Percentage of Individuals with Hearing Loss

Johns Hopkins bar graph. "Percentage of Individuals with Hearing Loss by Age and & Severity" 72.9 Million (22.2% Americans aged 20 years or older have hearing loss. Ages 20-29, 4.1% Ages 30-39, 7.9% Ages 40-49, 14.1% Ages 50-59, 28.7% or appx 1 in 4 Ages 60-69 50.3% or 1 in 2 Ages 70-79, 72.1% or 7 in 10 Ages 80+: 84.3% or 8 in 10

Source: Johns Hopkins

A template, PowerPoint slide, is available to customize for your state.

Communication Language

Of those people who are deaf/Deaf, have a hearing loss, or are DeafBlind, approximately:

  • 97.2% to 99% use spoken language
  • 1% to 2.8% use American Sign Language (ASL)
  • <1% use some form of tactile communication

Percent of Population Affected by Hearing Loss, by County

SoundCheck maps reveals that hearing loss is extremely common, especially among adults, and calls for action to protect from irreversible hearing damage which can impact our health and wellbeing.

Sound Check Map. Interactive map (webpage). Understanding hearing loss prevalence and increasing awareness of hearing health solutions.

US map, shaded by county, depending on the degree of hearing loss

References

Resources

“In sum, sign language use in the USA is substantial (approaching 3% of the adult population in 2014). Though most (around 83%) of the estimated 6.4 to 7.0 million adults claiming to use sign language were hearing, more of whom were women than men, around 1 million deaf and hard-of-hearing adults used sign language (.1 to .2 million of whom specifically identified as deaf— an age-by-sex-adjusted 39%).”