Hearing loss affects more and more people. The World Health Organization says that hearing loss will be one of the top 10 disease burdens in many countries and will have a great social and economic impact. Despite this, 40 times less money is used on research into hearing loss than on cardiovascular conditions per person affected.
According to Action on Hearing Loss, hearing loss is therefore a potential health crisis that we cannot ignore. It is therefore worth noting that a lot less money is used on research into hearing loss than for example cardiovascular conditions and diabetes.
Significant costs
Innumerable studies from around the world have documented, that hearing loss has significant personal consequences and social and economic costs and impacts both employment and education.Research by Action on Hearing Loss has shown that even at times of low unemployment, people with severe and profound levels of hearing loss were more than four times more likely to be unemployed than the general population. Hearing loss also more than doubles the risk of depression in older people and children with hearing loss have an increased risk of mental health problems.
Source: Hearing Matters, Action on Hearing Loss, 2011
