The survey discovered that West Virginia has the highest prevalence rate of hearing loss among all the states.
People living in more rural areas are at greatest risk of experiencing hearing loss, according to a new study. According to a recent study published in the journal Lancet Regional Health-Americas, an estimated 12% of Americans, or 38 million people, have it in both ears as of 2019. Of these, approximately 25 million had mild it and 13 million had more moderate and severe types. According to lead study author David Rein, director of public health analytics at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center, the results represent one of the first estimates of hearing loss at the state and county level across the United States and highlight the regions of the nation disproportionately affected.
The study found rates of it increased with age: approximately 1 in 7 adults ages 35 and over, or 13.8%, were estimated to have any of it, compared to just 0.5% among people younger than 35. The study also found rates of any 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.
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Hearing Loss
Where is it most prevalent?
The study found individuals living in more regular parts of the country were at higher risk for hearing loss. Among states, West Virginia had the highest prevalence rate of it, at about 18%, followed by Maine, Montana, Wyoming and Vermont, all of which had rates of it 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 it, at 6.2%.
At the local level, the study found that 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 of time. “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 at a potentially more nuanced public health problem given the individuals most affected. Other issues that have been linked to hearing loss include increased rates of social isolation, an increased risk of fall-related injuries, and dementia. According to Rein, the issue may worsen as the country’s senior population grows. According to Rein, “I anticipate that as the population ages, more people will develop hearing loss.” “I hope this research helps to normalize screening for and treatment of hearing loss across different age groups and to spark a national conversation about how to help people protect themselves from hearing loss.”
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