Hearing loss


What does the degree of hearing impairment mean?

  • Mild hearing loss: unable to hear soft sounds, difficulty understanding speech clearly in noisy environments.

  • Moderate hearing loss: unable to hear soft and moderately loud sounds, considerable difficulty understanding speech, particularly with background noise.

  • Severe hearing loss: some loud sounds are audible but communication without a hearing instrument is impossible.

  • Profound hearing loss: some extremely loud sounds are audible but communication without a hearing instrument is impossible.

Figures from the US and UK indicate that one out of seven Europeans does not have full hearing and one out of ten hears so poorly that a hearing instrument would help.
The Maastricht report on hearing impairment, which was published in 1999, estimates that only about 9 million out of 37 million hearing-impaired people have sought help, and that only 5 million in the EU actually use hearing aids.

The degree of hearing loss varies from person to person
Between the two extremes of hearing well and hearing nothing, there are many degrees of impairment. The terms used to describe the degree of hearing loss are mild, moderate, severe and profound. Most hearing losses are mild to moderate.

For further information on the impact of hearing loss on the individual and society go directly to the non-commercial web site www.hear-it.org.

Taken from Phonak Hearing Systems
Photo: John A. Jaszczak from the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum collection