The number of people with hearing loss will rise nearly 70% by 2060, according to research published in JAMA Otolaryngology by Adele Goman, PhD, at the John Hopkins Center for Aging and Health, and colleagues.
Some 44 million adults are expected to have some level of hearing loss in 2020, representing 15% of all adults 20 and over. That number will balloon to an estimated 73.5 million by 2060 -- more than 22% of all adults 20 and over.
Prevalence of moderate or greater hearing loss (defined as hearing loss of greater than 40 dB) will grow faster than less severe hearing loss. The more severe group is expected to grow by 88%, compared to a 55% increase in those with mild cases.
The projection relied on an "assumption that current prevalence rates of hearing loss by age decade will remain relatively constant during the next 40 years and beyond," Goman and colleagues noted -- meaning that the numerical growth over time mainly reflects an aging population.
Goman and colleagues asserted that the projections add some needed context to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine's recommendations to improve access to interventions and hearing healthcare services.
"The increased need for affordable interventions and accessibility to trained hearing specialists will require novel and cost-effective approaches to audiologic health care," Goman and colleagues wrote.