- One in three adults in the UK are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus.
- Over 18 million adults in the UK are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus.
- Over half the population aged 55 or more have hearing loss.
- 80% of people over the age of 70 will have hearing loss.
- An estimated 1.2 million adults in the UK have hearing loss severe enough that they would not be able to hear most conversational speech.
Sources
Our hearing loss population estimates are calculated using the most robust data available on the prevalence of hearing loss (average hearing levels of 20dB or worse in one or both ears) for adults aged 18 to 80, combined with population estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Read this recent report on the number of adults in the UK with a hearing loss (2024).
Read the report on hearing in adults from the MRC National Study of Hearing.