Prevalence of Hearing Loss Among US Adolescents Has Increased Significantly

ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2010) — Data from two nationally representative surveys indicates that the prevalence of hearing loss among U.S. adolescents increased by about 30 percent from 1988-1994 to 2005-2006, with 1 in 5 adolescents having hearing loss in 2005-2006, according to a study in the August 18 issue of JAMA.

Hearing loss is a common sensory disorder, affecting tens of millions of individuals of all ages in the United States. Adolescent hearing loss, although common, is not well understood, and can have important educational and social implications, according to background information in the article. Some risk factors, such as loud sound exposure from listening to music, may be of particular importance to adolescents.

An analysis of the data indicated that the prevalence of any hearing loss among 12- to 19-year olds was 14.9 percent in 1988-1994 and 19.5 percent (approximately 6.5 million individuals) in 2005-2006, representing a 31 percent increase in the prevalence of hearing loss over this time. The majority of hearing loss was slight. The prevalence of any unilateral hearing loss was 11.1 percent in 1988-1994 and 14.0 percent in 2005-2006, and any bilateral hearing loss was 3.8 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. Any high-frequency hearing loss (prevalence, 12.8 percent in 1988-1994; prevalence, 16.4 percent in 2005-2006) was more common than any low-frequency hearing loss (prevalence, 6.1 percent in 1988-1994; prevalence, 9.0 percent in 2005-2006) in both survey cycles.

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