People living in more rural areas are at greatest risk of experiencing hearing loss, according to a new study.
An estimated 12% or 38 million Americans, suffered from hearing loss in both ears as of 2019, according to the findings of a study recently published in the journal Lancet Regional Health-Americas, including nearly 25 million with mild hearing loss, and 13 million with more moderate and worse forms.
The findings mark one of the first estimates of hearing loss at the state and county level across the U.S., and highlights the areas of the country disproportionately affected, says lead study author David Rein, director of public health analytics at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.
The study found rates of hearing loss increased with age: Approximately 1 in 7 adults ages 35 and over, 13.8%, were estimated to have any hearing loss, compared to just 0.5% among people younger than 35.
The study also found rates of any hearing loss were higher among men (13%) than women (10%), and that by race and ethnicity, white individuals had the highest prevalence at 14.6%, compared to 6.2% among Black people, and 7% among Hispanic individuals.
Where Is Hearing Loss Most Prevalent?
The study found individuals living in more rural parts of the country were at higher risk for hearing loss. Among states, West Virginia had the highest prevalence rate of hearing loss, at about 18%, followed by Maine, Montana, Wyoming and Vermont, all of which had rates of hearing loss at above 15%. Utah, Maryland and New Jersey were among the states with the lowest rates of hearing loss, at under 10%, while Washington, D.C., had the lowest prevalence of hearing loss at 6.2%.
At the local level, the study found more rural counties had the highest prevalence of hearing loss.
Rein says individuals in rural areas are more likely to work outside and engage in recreational activities outdoors, which can increase their exposure to loud noises for longer periods.
“When we think about hearing loss, there are three factors that go into the risk from noise exposures: one is how loud, the next is how close, and the third is the duration of the exposure,” Rein says. “In rural areas, there might be more occupational and recreational activities that create noise exposures that could damage hearing.”
Individuals living in completely rural counties, or those with an urban population of less than 2,500 people who were not adjacent to a metropolitan area had the highest rate of hearing loss at 19.8%, while counties in metropolitan areas with populations of 1 million or more people had the lowest prevalence of hearing loss, at 9.7%, according to the study.
Hearing loss prevalence was positively associated with the percent of a county’s workers employed in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, and negatively associated with a county’s median home value and physicians per capita, the study found.
What Are the Health Implications?
While hearing loss was once considered a “relatively benign” aspect of aging, according to the study’s authors, these findings hint to a potentially more nuanced public health problem given the individuals most affected.
Hearing loss has been associated with other complications, including higher rates of social isolation, as well as a greater risk of injuries from falling and developing dementia. And the problem could get worse as the nation’s elderly population increases, Rein says.
“I expect as the population continues to age more people will experience hearing loss,” Rein says. “I hope this research contributes to a national conversation about how to help people protect themselves from hearing loss and how to normalize screening for and treatment of hearing loss across different age groups.”
Dr Charles