What is it about?

Hearing loss affects access to spoken language, which can affect cognition and development, and can negatively affect social wellbeing. We present updated estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study on the prevalence of hearing loss in 2019, as well as the condition's associated disability.

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Why is it important?

The GBD hearing loss paper published in 2010 was informed by 42 studies in 29 countries. Our analysis provides an update that is informed by 215 survey sources from 77 countries. Method changes for the GBD 2019 iteration include new methods of adjusting data using non-standard hearing thresholds and splitting data with gender unspecified by sex. These GBD estimates are accompanied by forecasts of hearing loss prevalence until 2050, providing a comprehensive picture of current and future disease trends. We found that 1·57 billion people (95% uncertainty interval 1·51–1·64) had hearing loss in 2019, contributing to 43·45 million (29·68–61·80) years lived with disability as the third largest cause of disability in GBD. The global number of individuals with hearing loss is also projected to increase by 56·1% (47·3–65·2) in the next 30 years despite stable age-standardised prevalence.

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This page is a summary of: Hearing loss prevalence and years lived with disability, 1990–2019: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, The Lancet, March 2021, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(21)00516-x.
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