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How many births will occur on earth over the next 10 years?
1.9 billion
What is the most common birth defect among children born on earth?
Hearing Impairment
How many deaf/hard of hearing children will be born on earth in the next 10 years?
76 million children
If these children held hands starting at The Let Them Hear Foundation in E. Palo Alto, California – how far would the chain go?
2.5 times around the globe
Types of Hearing Loss
- Sensorineural Hearing Loss (or nerve-related deafness) involves damage to the inner ear caused by aging, pre-natal and/or birth-related problems, viral or bacterial infections, heredity, trauma, exposure to loud noise, or a benign tumor in the inner ear. Almost all sensorineural hearing loss can be treated effectively with hearing aids or cochlear implants.
- Conductive Hearing Loss is typically caused by problems with the outer and/or middle ear, such as wax build-up, a punctured eardrum, birth defects, ear infection, or heredity. Often conductive hearing loss can be treated medically or surgically.
- Mixed Hearing Loss refers to a combination of conductive and sensorineural loss.
- Central Hearing Loss results from impaired nerves or nuclei of the central nervous system, either in the pathways to the brain or in the brain itself.
Facts on Hearing Loss in Children
- Everyday in the United States, approximately 1 in 1,000 newborns (or 33 babies every day) is born profoundly deaf, with another 2-3 out of 1,000 babies born with partial hearing loss, making hearing loss the number one birth defect in America.
- In 2005, 78% of the babies born in California underwent a hearing screening test. A whopping 119,020 California babies were NOT screened! This number is more than the total annual births in 42 other states.
- When children are not identified and do not receive early intervention, special education for a child with hearing loss costs schools an additional $420,000, and has a lifetime cost of approximately $1 million per individual.
- Infants identified with hearing loss can be fit with amplification in the first month of life! With appropriate early intervention, children with hearing loss can be mainstreamed into regular elementary and secondary education classrooms. Recent research has concluded that children born with a hearing loss who are identified and given appropriate intervention before 6 months of age demonstrated significantly better speech, language, and reading comprehension skills than children identified after 6 months of age.
- Even mild hearing loss can significantly interfere with the reception of spoken language and education performance. Research indicates that children with unilateral hearing loss (in one ear) are ten times as likely to be held back at least one grade compared to children with normal hearing. Similar academic achievement delays have been reported for children with mild hearing loss. These children miss 25-50% of spoken language in the classroom, and may be inappropriately labeled as having behavior or attention problems.
Facts on Hearing Loss in Adults
- One in every ten (28 million) Americans has hearing loss. As baby boomers reach retirement age starting in 2010, this number is expected to rapidly climb and nearly double by the year 2030.
- The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age, up to 1 in 3 over age 65. Most hearing losses develop over a period of 25 to 30 years.
- Among seniors, hearing loss is the third most prevalent but treatable disabling condition, behind arthritis and hypertension.
- While the vast majority of Americans (95%) with hearing loss could be successfully treated with hearing aids, only 22% (6.35 million individuals) currently use them.
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