Three in every four over-50s have hearing loss, challenging UK pilot study finds

Just how common is hearing loss among the UK's over-50s population? The results of a national pilot study of hidden sensory loss, released on October 10, have provoked a jolting intake of breath with its figure of 76% of over-50s suffering from hearing loss. Hardly less dramatic is the accompanying data suggesting that 81% of participants have never had a hearing test. It was only just over one year ago, in June 2024, that a study by leading hearing research centres in Manchester and Nottingham announced that a redefinition of what constitutes hearing loss could deliver a startling new total of over 18 million people affected. A call for a more complete and reliable data picture has now come from an amalgam of sensory loss charities, policy makers, and researchers, all of whom got...