Mrs Muriel Gibbard

A life-changing condition with a devastating effect

Hearing loss is a life-changing condition that affects people 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is an invisible problem that can have a devastating effect on relationships, education, and job prospects.

Hearing loss is linked to isolation, depression, and cognitive decline.
People who are deaf or have hearing loss are more likely to be unemployed, denied opportunities at work or forced into early retirement.
Hearing loss can make the risk of developing dementia between two and five times more likely.
People with tinnitus are at a greater risk of suicide because of the unceasing noise in their head or ears.

How hearing loss affects everyday life

People with hearing loss face barriers in their everyday lives. They can find it difficult to differentiate between speech and other noise, so background music or poor acoustics in restaurants and bars make it hard to have a social life outside the home. Plus, a lack of deaf-aware staff can make shopping and accessing services a frustrating, or even humiliating, experience.

It’s a growing problem

Across the UK, 11 million people are affected by hearing loss including someone in your family, friends, your partner, or someone at work. As the population ages, more of us will be affected. By 2035, one fifth of us will be living with the condition.

In the UK today:

900,000 people have severe or profound hearing loss meaning they hear very little, or nothing at all
one in ten people suffers with tinnitus
four million people who need hearing aids don’t have them.