Sound Check Data Highlights

Overview

Hearing loss is a common and disabling condition. We estimate that in 2019, over 1 in 9 Americans (37.9 million, 95%CI 36.6-39.1 million) had bilateral (in both ears) hearing loss. The prevalence rate of hearing loss increases dramatically with age. Aging is the most important risk factor for hearing loss. However among people of the same age, rates of hearing loss are higher for men than for women, and for non-Hispanic Whites as compared to other race and ethnicity groups.  Our study found higher rates of hearing loss in rural areas as compared to urban areas for reasons that are not currently well understood. Degrees of hearing loss are often defined based on hearing loss ranges measured in decibels in hearing level (dB HL). Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we categorized persons as having normal hearing (able to hear at or less than 25 dB), mild hearing loss (able to hear 26 to <=40 dB), or moderate or worse hearing loss (able to hear >40 dB) based on their hearing ability in the better hearing ear, corresponding to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) definitions of normal and slight hearing loss (for normal), mild (for mild), and moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound (for moderate or worse). The table and chart below show the percent of Americans that have mild and moderate or worse hearing loss, by age groups, race and ethnicity, and gender.

You can download a PDF of this graphic here.

Hearing Loss Prevalence Data Table

Mild Moderate or worse Total
Ages 75 and older 36.8% 35.9% 72.7%
Ages 65-74 24.6% 10.0% 34.6%
Ages 35-64 7.2% 1.7% 8.9%
Ages 18-34 0.6% 0.1% 0.7%
Ages 5-17 0.2% 0.1% 0.3%
Ages 0-4 0.1% 0.0% 0.1%
White, non-Hispanic 9.4% 5.2% 14.6%
Black, non-Hispanic 4.4% 1.8% 6.2%
Other 5.7% 2.7% 8.4%
Hispanic, any race 4.8% 2.1% 7.0%
Male 8.5% 4.6% 13.1%
Female 6.8% 3.3% 10.1%
All persons 7.6% 4.0% 11.6%

Dive Into The Data

Overview

The national prevalence estimates are based on audiology examination data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) audiology examination module. To ensure a sufficient sample size, we merged NHANES data from 2001-2012, and 2015-2018 (audiometry data were not collected in 2013/14) and updated the results to the 2019 U.S. population. These results are stratified by age groups, race/ethnicity group, and gender. NHANES data only reports national outcomes, and hearing examination data at the state or local level does not exist. To generate state and county prevalence estimates, we used a statistical modeling approach called small area estimation to predict the variation in prevalence of hearing loss in different geographic areas using state and county level data for different indicators of hearing loss which are available at the state and county level, including self-reported difficulty hearing as reported the American Community Survey and diagnosed hearing loss from Medicare fee-for-Service claims and Medicare Advantage encounters. A summary of the approach is in the table below.

Methodology

Predicted prevalence rates and prevalence counts using a statistical modeling approach.

Data Sources

  • National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2001-2012, 2015-2018 audiometry examinations

  • American Community Survey (ACS), 2015-2019

  • 100% Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) claims, 2019

  • 100% Medicare Advantage encounters, 2019

  • Area Health Resources file, 2019

  • Social Security Administration, Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, 2019

  • U.S. Census County Business Patterns, Complete County File​, 2019

  • Decennial Census, 2010

Case Definitions

  • Moderate or worse hearing loss: inability to hear sounds less than 40 dB in better-hearing ear

  • Mild hearing loss: inability to hear sounds less than 25 dB in the better-hearing ear

  • Normal hearing: able to hear sounds at 25 dB in worse hearing ear

Year

Released 2023, estimates based on 2019 population estimates.

Publication

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanam/article/PIIS2667-193X(23)00244-2/fulltext

Key National Results

Prevalence (number of people) with bilateral hearing loss in the United States:

  • Any bilateral hearing loss: 37.9 million (95% Uncertainty Interval [U.I.] 36.6-39.1)

  • Mild: 24.9 million (95% U.I. 23.6-26.0)

  • Moderate or worse: 13.0 million (95% U.I. 12.1-13.9)

Prevalence Rate (percentage of people) with bilateral hearing loss in the United States:

  • Any bilateral hearing loss: 11.6% (95% U.I, 11.2%-12.0%)

  • Mild:  7.6% (95% U.I, 7.2%-7.9%)

  • Moderate or worse: 4.0% (95% U.I, 3.7%-4.2%)

Disparities in hearing loss

  • Higher prevalence rates of hearing loss are associated with:

    • Increased age

    • Male gender

    • Non-Hispanic White race and ethnicity

    • Living in a rural county

Detailed National Results for Any Hearing Loss

Prevalence Count 2.5th precentile 97.5th percentile Prevalence Rate 2.5th percentile 97.5th percentile
Total 37,900,836 36,613,204 39,180,270 11.56% 11.17% 11.95%
Female 16,774,227 15,898,329 17,639,868 10.08% 9.55% 10.60%
Male 21,126,611 20,191,067 22,133,594 13.09% 12.51% 13.71%
0 to 4 22,698 8,512 50,484 0.11% 0.04% 0.25%
5 to 17 144,824 89,167 221,814 0.27% 0.16% 0.41%
18 to 34 545,957 390,091 721,817 0.71% 0.51% 0.94%
35 to 64 11,204,621 10,258,244 12,160,961 8.89% 8.14% 9.65%
65 to 75 10,339,934 9,613,337 11,028,771 34.60% 32.17% 36.91%
75+ 15,642,790 15,167,163 16,150,353 72.71% 70.49% 75.06%
non-Hispanic Black 2,469,030 2,260,799 2,731,955 6.18% 5.66% 6.84%
Hispanic 4,289,275 3,939,998 4,623,767 6.95% 6.38% 7.49%
non-Hispanic Other 2,445,071 2,206,101 2,709,664 8.40% 7.58% 9.31%
non-Hispanic White 28,697,468 27,485,055 29,927,508 14.56% 13.94% 15.18%

Detailed National Results for Mild Hearing Loss

Prevalence Count 2.5th precentile 97.5th percentile Prevalence Rate 2.5th percentile 97.5th percentile
Total 24,894,276 23,624,225 26,019,499 7.59% 7.20% 7.94%
Female 11,260,337 10,458,329 12,043,736 6.76% 6.28% 7.23%
Male 13,633,940 12,732,822 14,534,255 8.45% 7.89% 9.00%
0 to 4 18,353 7,622 35,846 0.09% 0.04% 0.18%
5 to 17 102,485 58,346 160,800 0.19% 0.11% 0.30%
18 to 34 467,652 330,941 615,442 0.61% 0.43% 0.81%
35 to 64 9,045,363 8,164,261 9,922,030 7.18% 6.48% 7.87%
65 to 75 7,341,236 6,676,021 7,957,312 24.57% 22.34% 26.63%
75+ 7,919,177 7,420,148 8,454,503 36.81% 34.49% 39.30%
non-Hispanic Black 1,745,705 1,556,345 1,964,979 4.37% 3.90% 4.92%
Hispanic 2,972,611 2,656,633 3,301,814 4.82% 4.30% 5.35%
non-Hispanic Other 1,658,358 1,432,497 1,898,352 5.70% 4.92% 6.52%
non-Hispanic White 18,517,606 17,408,145 19,581,264 9.39% 8.83% 9.93%

Detailed National Results for Moderate or Worse Hearing Loss

Prevalence Count 2.5th precentile 97.5th percentile Prevalence Rate 2.5th percentile 97.5th percentile
Total 13,006,560 12,187,678 13,870,352 3.97% 3.72% 4.23%
Female 5,513,890 4,947,514 6,103,386 3.31% 2.97% 3.67%
Male 7,492,670 6,863,602 8,137,918 4.64% 4.25% 5.04%
0 to 4 4,345 447 16,868 0.02% 0.00% 0.08%
5 to 17 42,339 18,975 76,116 0.08% 0.04% 0.14%
18 to 34 78,305 34,420 146,556 0.10% 0.05% 0.19%
35 to 64 2,159,259 1,722,767 2,629,672 1.71% 1.37% 2.09%
65 to 75 2,998,698 2,577,583 3,472,618 10.03% 8.63% 11.62%
75+ 7,723,613 7,228,648 8,241,711 35.90% 33.60% 38.31%
non-Hispanic Black 723,325 585,385 864,432 1.81% 1.47% 2.16%
Hispanic 1,316,664 1,126,662 1,529,346 2.13% 1.83% 2.48%
non-Hispanic Other 786,713 616,087 960,841 2.70% 2.12% 3.30%
non-Hispanic White 10,179,862 9,410,484 11,000,457 5.16% 4.77% 5.58%

State and City Results for Mild, Moderate or Worse, and Any Hearing Loss

State Mild Moderate or worse Any
AK 8.7% 3.5% 12.3%
AL 8.7% 4.3% 13.0%
AR 9.9% 4.8% 14.8%
AZ 8.5% 4.6% 13..1%
CA 6.3% 3.4% 9.8%
CO 7.4% 3.7% 11.1%
CT 6.9% 3.9% 10.8%
DC 4.2% 2.0% 6.3%
DE 6.9% 3.9% 10.8%
FL 8.3% 4.8% 13.2%
GA 6.5% 3.2% 9.7%
HI 8.0% 4.6% 12.6%
IA 8.1% 4.4% 12.5%
ID 9.3% 4.6% 13.8%
IL 6.6% 3.6% 10.2%
IN 8.3% 4.2% 12.5%
KS 8.7% 4.4% 13.1%
KY 10.0% 4.7% 14.8%
LA 7.9% 3.8% 11.7%
MA 7.1% 4.0% 11.0%
MD 5.9% 3.1% 9.1%
ME 10.6% 5.5% 16.2%
MI 8.2% 4.3% 12.5%
MN 7.7% 4.1% 11.8%
MO 8.9% 4.5% 13.4%
MS 8.1% 3.9% 12.0%
MT 10.3% 5.2% 15.4%
NC 7.8% 3.9% 11.7%
ND 8.3% 4.4% 12.7%
NE 8.3% 4.3% 12.6%
NH 8.7% 4.5% 13.3%
NJ 5.9% 3.4% 9.4%
NM 10.0% 5.0% 15.0%
NV 8.3% 4.1% 12.4%
NY 6.3% 3.5% 9.8%
OH 8.2% 4.3% 12.4%
OK 10.0% 4.8% 14.8%
OR 9.7% 4.8% 14.5%
PA 8.3% 4.5% 12.8%
RI 7.8% 4.2% 12.1%
SC 7.9% 4.0% 11.9%
SD 8.9% 4.6% 13.5%
TN 8.9% 4.4% 13.3%
TX 6.9% 3.3% 10.3%
UT 6.1% 3.0% 9.1%
VT 10.0% 5.1% 15.1%
VA 6.9% 3.6% 10.5%
WA 8.3% 4.1% 12.4%
WI 7.9% 4.2% 12.1%
WV 12.3% 6.0% 18.2%
WY 10.4% 4.9% 15.3%

Detailed State and County Level Results

The Sound Check map can display more detailed state and county-level results. The table below summarizes the information available at the state and county levels. To view detailed state and county-level results, click on a state or county and then click on “VIEW DETAILS”

Available Stratifications

Stage

  • Any hearing loss

  • Mild hearing loss

  • Moderate or worse hearing loss

Age Group

  • All ages

  • Age groups (0-4, 5-17, 18-34, 35-64, 65-74, 75+ years)

Sex

  • All

  • Male

  • Female

Race/Ethnicity

  • All racial and ethnic groups

  • Black (non-Hispanic)

  • Hispanic

  • White (non-Hispanic)

  • Other racial and ethnic groups

SoundCheck Map Features

Characteristic Overlays at the State and County Levels

The SoundCheck map allows users to select an overlay which displays as a purple dot over each geographic area (state or county). The size of the dot corresponds to the relative value of the overlay indicator. That is, the bigger the dot, the higher that characteristic at that geographic level. Overlay indicators are characteristics of the overall population of the state or county including those with and without hearing loss. For example, selecting the ‘Completed College’ overlay under ‘Educational Attainment’ produces purple dots over each state or county, with the size of each dot corresponding to the relative percent of people within that state or county who reported completing college.  

 To view definitions of each characteristic, please click on the "Data Sources" tab at the top of the Map Page (2nd from the right).

Available Map Overlays

Audiologists

  • Audiologists per Capita

Self-Reported Disability

  • Vision Difficulty

  • Cognitive Difficulty

  • Ambulatory Difficulty

  • Self-Care Difficulty

  • Independent Living Difficulty

  • Disability Status

High-Risk Occupation Rate

  • High-Risk Occupations

Socio-Demographic

  • Age

  • Race/Ethnicity

  • Educational Attainment

  • Urbanicity

Economic

  • Poverty Rate

  • Median Household Income

  • Unemployment Rate

  • Deep Poverty