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8 million Australians with hearing loss in 2050
Growing numbers of Australians will be struggling with hearing loss in the future. The prevalence of hearing loss in Australia is projected to increase from one in six to one in four by 2050.
Increasing numbers of hearing impaired Australians translate into a sharp increase in prevalence from 17% of the population in 2005 to almost 27% in 2050, according to the projections developed by the Australian Access Economics consultancy. In all, almost 8 million Australians will be suffering from some degree of hearing loss in 2050.
Men will continue to be more affected than women. The increase in hearing loss among Australian men is projected to increase from 21% to 31%. Among women the prevalence will increase from 14% in 2005 to 22% in 2050, according to Access Economics.
Therefore it is a fact at least one in five adults suffers some form of hearing loss. Although common hearing loss is also among the most neglected physical impairments. Learning to live with a hearing loss can be hard. Untreated hearing loss may lead to numerous social and psychological problems. Some hearing impaired people also experience physical problems because of their hearing loss. Reactions differ from person to person, but most hearing impaired people suffer some social, psychological and physical problems as a result.
However, once a hearing loss is diagnosed and accepted the hearing impaired person can live an almost normal life. Surveys indicate that hearing impaired people benefit socially and psychologically and improve their quality of life when their hearing loss is treated with hearing aids.One of the surveys was carried out by the National Council of Ageing (NCOA), in the USA .
Fortunately recent years have seen breakthroughs in hearing aid technology which will assist the millions of hearing impaired to overcome their problems.
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Source: Hear-It
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