The Economic Impact of Hearing Loss – And How The Tech Industry Is Addressing It

In this era where technology is taking the world by storm, we have to experience the both positive and negative side of the same. Do you know that hearing loss is one of the most prevalent forms of disability around the world, with up to 20% of the entire population experiencing some level of deafness? In the US alone, almost 61 million Americans aged 12 and older report hearing loss. This number is expected to double by 2060.  

Unfortunately, aside from impacting overall quality of life, hearing loss also has serious economic implications. A study from 2021 estimated that hearing loss costs the global economy $980 billion. Given this staggering amount, many industries have sought to help address hearing loss. Chief among these is the tech industry, which is consistently churning out new innovations that target improvements in accessibility.  

Hearing Loss’s Economic Impact

Before anything else, it’s important to clarify that the deaf and hard-of-hearing community is not an economic burden. In fact, most people with hearing loss are contributing members of society. Instead, the NCOA explains that the majority of costs related to hearing loss have more to do with untreated cases. Data from one study found that those with untreated hearing loss incur healthcare costs that are around $22,434 more per person over a 10-year period than those without hearing loss. This is because untreated cases are linked to higher rates of emergency room visits, increased chances of hospital readmission, and generally longer hospital stays. Naturally, this will result in more sick leaves taken, which will impact the productivity of the workforce. Even if the person in question with hearing loss is a minor, any significant health concerns may influence the productivity of their careers, thereby creating an expensive domino effect.  

Conversely, a report published in The Lancet Global Health relays that actively addressing hearing loss can result in positive economic gains. In the WHO’s universal health coverage package proposals, local governments are encouraged to invest more in hearing loss interventions. Within 10 years, these investments may bring in gains that translate to more than $1.3 trillion in monetary gains. This means that for every $1 invested, there will be a roughly $15 return. Interestingly, considering these promising prospects, it’s the private tech industry that’s taken the lead in hearing loss-related initiatives.   

How Technology Is Bridging Hearing Loss Healthcare Gaps

Considering that untreated hearing loss is the biggest cause of related economic dips, this is the pain point that the tech industry is primarily working to target. First, although approximately 44 million adults in the US could benefit from a hearing aid, only one in six regularly use it. Surveys from Forbes and OnePoll reveal that this is because many are worried about the stigma attached to traditional hearing aids. To remedy this, tech companies have developed “invisible” solutions. To illustrate, Nuance hearing aid glasses are considered an all-in-one solution to sight and hearing concerns. Developed for those with mild to moderate hearing loss, these glasses have integrated air conduction hearing aids into the frames. This creates a discreet, open-ear design. Created to deliver style and substance, these glasses work with an accompanying app so users can tailor the experience. This includes calibrating ambient and directional sound, and noise cancellation.  

Another tech innovation poised to elevate the hearing loss sector is the integration of AI and Bluetooth to enhance connectivity and adaptability. Contrary to earlier models of hearing aids that only provided general sound amplification with higher latency, the new generation of aids is smarter and faster. For instance, Starkey AI-powered buds can recognize more than 80 million sounds a day and make almost two billion adjustments to suit. With this, sounds are optimized in real-time, thereby allowing the brain to better distinguish them.  

Furthermore, there are still plenty of other projects in the works. For example, there has been much work around VR. Evidence from a recent experiment found that VR-based training can improve factors like speech-in-noise perception and subjective hearing in some respondents. Unfortunately, the widespread use of this may take some time, given that tech giants like Tencent are halting VR hardware operations for the foreseeable future. This comes following a lackluster metaverse rollout. Should these concerns be ironed out, though, the deaf community has more to look forward to, and the economic impact of untreated hearing loss can be one step closer to resolution.