The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recently published “Hearing Difficulties Among Adults: United States, 2019” on its website.
Some of the key findings, according to data from the National Health Interview Survey were:
In 2019, 13.0% of adults aged 18 and over had some difficulty hearing even when using a hearing aid and 1.6% either had a lot of difficulty hearing or could not hear at all, even when using a hearing aid.
Hearing difficulties increased with age with 26.8% of those aged 65 and over having some difficulty and 4.1% having a lot of difficulty or could not hear at all.
Among adults aged 45 and over, men were more likely than women to have had some or a lot of difficulty or could not hear at all.
Non-Hispanic white adults aged 45–64 had higher rates of some difficulty, a lot of difficulty, or being unable to hear at all, compared with other race and Hispanic-origin groups.
In 2019, 7.1% of adults aged 45 and over used a hearing aid; use was higher among men than women in all age groups.
To read the data brief in its entirety, please click here.
Source: CDC