Global and regional hearing impairment prevalence

Hearing impairment is a leading cause of disease burden, yet studies of its prevalence are rare. We present estimates of the global prevalence of hearing impairment generated for the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. We estimated that 1.2% (0.8%-1.8%) of children under age 15, 9.8% (7.7%-13.2%) of females over age 15, and 12.2%(9.7%-16.2%) of males over age 15 experienced moderate or worse hearing impairment in 2008 (defined as a hearing level of 35 decibels or more). We found very high prevalences of adult hearing impairment in low-income regions, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and in South and Southeast Asia; childhood onset of hearing impairment was also higher in these regions that other regions. While hearing aid use reduces the burden of hearing impairment in high-income regions, there is little evidence of their use in the developing countries where the burden of hearing impairment is greatest.© 2012 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.