Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent disabling conditions in the industrialized world, adversely affecting an individual’s physical, cognitive, behavioral and social functions. A total of 39 million Americans and 44 million Europeans have clinically significant hearing loss, with one third of this hearing loss coming from exposure to loud noise. Such exposure occurs in both work and recreational activities, and can adversely affect an individual’s physical, cognitive, behavioral and social functions. Awareness of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) issues within the United States has been increasing due to decades of government-mandated hearing conservation and educational programs within military and industrial environments, and an improved understanding of general health issues. Studies by NIOSH demonstrate that half of US adults believe they have suffered some form of hearing loss, including 35% of 18 to 29 year olds, and that 48% of all adults understand hearing loss is not solely due to the aging process.
Industries with high numbers of noise-exposed workers include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, construction, utilities, firefighting, airline maintenance, music and transportation. In these industries, NIHL remains a significant issue because alternatives such as hearing protection or noise reduction are impractical or insufficient. NIHL is a significant issue in the military, with 28% of all post-deploying soldiers reporting hearing loss and/or tinnitus. The percentage of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with hearing loss that prevents their re-deployment due to hearing disability is over 33%. The economic cost of NIHL in the military has increased from 2002, when the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported $442M in payments for 66,055 veterans with hearing loss to greater than $800M by the end of 2004. Between March 2004 and the fall of 2004, at least 1,550 post-deploying soldiers reported exposure to explosion trauma, with 72% of these individuals incurring a permanent hearing loss.Add to this the approximately 14 million hunters who run the risk of temporary and/or permanent hearing loss from gunfire noise, the millions who attend music concerts and nightclubs, and the rapidly growing number of young adults who subject themselves to damaging sound levels when listening to music through personal listening devices (Apple is now shipping more than 8 million iPods each quarter) – it is no wonder that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has named hearing loss as one of the 21 priority areas for research in this century. Treatment costs for hearing loss and retraining in the United States alone are estimated to be $56 billion per year, over 2% of the gross national product.
