Hearing Loss Worse than Expected

A new study just out yesterday shows one in five Americans, over the age of 12, have hearing loss. Some 48 million people or 20.3% of the population experience it in at least one ear, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. They estimate that about 30 million Americans, or 12.7%t of the population, have hearing loss in both ears. Previous estimates put the number between 21 and 29 million. They examined data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys taken between 2001 and 2008. You can see details of the study in journal Archives of Internal Medicine here.