Judith Holt
Sue Hotto
Kevin Cole

Center for Assessment and Demographic Studies
Gallaudet University

1. How many persons are deaf or hard-of-hearing in the U.S.?
2. Are state and local estimates of the deaf and hard-of-hearing population available?
3. Of the estimated 20 million persons with hearing impairment in the U.S., how many are considered to be deaf?
4. What is the age distribution of the deaf population?
5. Are males or females more likely to have hearing impairment?
6. Which racial or ethnic groups are more likely to have hearing impairment?
7. Is there a difference in prevalence of hearing impairment by level of education?
8. Is there a difference in prevalence of hearing impairment by family income?
9. Is there a difference in prevalence of hearing impairment by size of community?
10. What is the number of deaf and hard-of-hearing adults in the labor force?
11. What is the age at onset of hearing loss for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons?
12. What are the leading causes of hearing loss for deaf and hard-of-hearing adults?
13. What are the leading causes of hearing loss for deaf and hard-of-hearing students?
14. How has the cause of hearing loss for deaf and hard-of-hearing students changed in the last 10 years?

Related Literature

1. How many persons are deaf or hard-of-hearing in the U.S.?

   The deaf or hard-of-hearing population is estimated by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to their 1990 and 1991 Health Interview Surveys, approximately 20 million persons, or 8.6 percent of the total U.S. population 3 years and older, were reported to have hearing problems (Table 1).^*

   

   The elderly were more likely than any other age group to have hearing problems (Figure 1). Persons 65 years and older are eight times more likely to have hearing impairment than persons ages 18-34 (i.e., 3.4 percent of the population ages 18-34 have hearing impairment, compared to 29.1 percent of the population 65 and older).

   ^*Note: NCHS does not collect data on persons under 3 years of age.

   

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2. Are state and local estimates of the deaf and hard-of-hearing population available?

   State and local estimates are not available at this time because sample households in the national surveys are not selected to be representative of states and localities. This is unfortunate, since the allocation of resources and administration of services for this population are generally at the state and local level.

   The U.S. Bureau of the Census has not included a question on hearing impairment since 1930, and no plans have been announced to include a question in the year 2000. However, beginning in 1995, the National Center for Health Statistics plans to change the sampling strategy for the Health Interview Survey to allow some state and regional estimates.

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3. Of the estimated 20 million persons with hearing impairment in the U.S., how many are considered to be deaf?

   Since there is no legal definition of deafness comparable to the legal definition of blindness, 'deaf' and 'deafness' can have a variety of meanings. Table 2 gives the prevalence of deafness based on three possible descriptions. For example, if deafness is described as the "inability to hear and understand any speech," there are approximately 550 thousand deaf persons in the U.S. (1/4 of one percent of the U.S. population).

   

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4. What is the age distribution of the deaf population?

   The only age distribution of deafness available is for the population of persons who, at best, can hear and understand words shouted in the better ear (Table 3). By other descriptions of deafness, the total deaf population is too small to obtain a valid estimate of the age distribution.

   

   Deafness, like all hearing impairment, is more prevalent among the elderly. Approximately .1 percent of the population under 45 years of age are deaf, compared to 2.5 percent of the population aged 65 and older.

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5. Are males or females more likely to have hearing impairment?

   The prevalence of hearing impairment differs according to gender (Table 4). The overall prevalence is 10.5 percent for males and 6.8 percent for females. While males at all ages are more likely than females to be deaf or hard-of-hearing, the gap widens after age 18 (Figure 2).

   

   

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6. Which racial or ethnic groups are more likely to have hearing impairment?

   Whites are more than twice as likely as Blacks to be deaf or hard-of- hearing (Table 5). The overall prevalence is 9.4 percent for whites, compared to 4.2 percent for Blacks.

   

   Non-Hispanics are also more than twice as likely as Hispanics to be deaf or hard-of-hearing (Table 6). The overall prevalence is 9.1 percent for non- Hispanics and 4.2 percent for Hispanics.

   

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7. Is there a difference in prevalence of hearing impairment by level of education?

   In the adult population, the prevalence of hearing impairment is greater for those who are not high school graduates (i.e., have less than 12 years' education) than for high school graduates (Table 7).

   

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8. Is there a difference in prevalence of hearing impairment by family income?

   The prevalence of hearing impairment at all ages decreases as family income increases (Table 8). Overall, those with a family income of less than $10,000 are twice as likely as those with a family income of $50,000 and over to have hearing impairment.

   

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9. Is there a difference in prevalence of hearing impairment by size of community?

   The prevalence of hearing impairment is greater at all ages among the population living in rural areas (Table 9). Rural areas are defined as those outside a metropolitan statistical area (MSA). An MSA consists of a city having a population of 50,000 or more plus adjacent areas that are metropolitan in character and are economically and socially integrated with the central city.

   

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10. What is the number of deaf and hard-of-hearing adults in the labor force?

    Table 10 lists the labor force status of deaf and hard-of-hearing adults. Of the approximately 8 million deaf and hard-of-hearing adults who were employed at the time of the survey, 29% listed their occupation as "professional and managerial," 34% listed it as "sales, service, and administrative support," and 37% listed it as "other."

    

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11. What is the age at onset of hearing loss for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons?

    Of the estimated 20 million deaf and hard-of-hearing persons in the U.S., approximately 3 out of every 4 persons had onset of hearing loss after age 18 (Table 11). Less than 1 in 5 reported they had prevocational hearing loss (i.e. onset before 19 years of age). Approximately 5% reported prelingual loss (i.e., onset before 3 years of age).

    

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12. What are the leading causes of hearing loss for deaf and hard-of-hearing adults?

    Of the estimated 19 million deaf and hard-of-hearing adults in the U.S., 33.7% report that their loss is due to some sort of noise (Table 12). Another 28% report that their loss is due to age, while 17.1% report that it is due to infection or injury. Only 4.4% report the presence of hearing loss at birth.

    

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13. What are the leading causes of hearing loss for deaf and hard-of-hearing students?

    Etiology information is available for approximately one-half of the students reported to the 1992-93 Annual Survey of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth, conducted by the Center for Assessment and Demographic Studies. It is estimated that this survey represents 60-65% of the population of deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the U.S. who receive special education services.

    As shown in Table 13, heredity, at 13%, is the leading known cause of hearing impairment at birth, followed by pregnancy/birth complications (including Rh incompatibility, prematurity, and birth trauma) at 8.7%. Meningitis, at 8.1%, is the leading known cause of hearing impairment occurring after birth.

    

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14. How has the cause of hearing loss for deaf and hard-of-hearing students changed in the last 10 years?

    The largest change is for maternal rubella (Table 14). It was the reported etiology for over 9,000 students in the 1982-83 Annual Survey and less than 1,000 students in 1992-93. Other reductions in incidence are noted for pregnancy complications, Rh incompatibility, measles, mumps, infections, high fever, and trauma. However, in spite of the development of a vaccine for a leading cause of meningitis (haemophilus influenza, type B), the incidence of hearing loss due to meningitis has changed very little. Although cytomegalovirus shows a marked increase, that may be due to changes in reporting practices rather than changes in the actual prevalence.

    

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• Allen, T.E., Lam, K.H., Rawlings, B.W., Rose, D.E., & Schildroth, A.N. (1994). Young deaf adults and the transition from high school to postsecondary careers. (Gallaudet Research Institute Occasional Paper 94-1). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
• Brown, S.C. (1990). Older Americans and tinnitus: A demographic study and chartbook. (Gallaudet Research Institute Monograph Series A, Number 2). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
• Brown, S.C. (1990). The prevalence of communicative disorders in the aging population. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Report 19). Rockville, MD: ASHA.
• Center for Assessment and Demographic Studies. (1993). Data from the 1992-93 Annual Survey of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
• Center for Assessment and Demographic Studies. (1988). Data from the 1987-88 Annual Survey of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
• Center for Assessment and Demographic Studies. (1983). Data from the 1982-83 Annual Survey of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (1993). Fifteenth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Act. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Education.
• Ries, Peter W. (1994).Prevalence and characteristics of persons with hearing trouble: United States, 1990-91. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Statistics, 10(188).
• Rawlings, B.W., King, S.J., Skilton, J.C., & Rose, D.E. (1993). Gallaudet University alumni survey, 1993. (Gallaudet Research Institute and the Office of Institutional Research Report). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University.
• Schildroth, A.N. (1994). Congenital cytomegalovirus and deafness. American Journal of Audiology, 2(3), 27-38.
• Schildroth, A.N., & Karchmer, M.A. (Eds.). (1986). Deaf children in America. San Diego, CA: College-Hill Press.