Prevalence of hearing loss in SA

What all stake holders in SA should know:

12 million people in South Africa may be affected by hearing loss, as hearing loss affects 20% of the Global Population.

(Figure 1.5 World Report on Hearing).

The majority of these (14,9%) have a mild hearing loss (8,94 million people in SA). 5.1% experience a moderate or higher degree of hearing loss.(3.06 million people in SA) Total: 12 million people in SA are affected by hearing loss.

The “functional impact” is that persons with a mild hearing loss ( +/- 8.94 million people in SA) may already have a “moderate functional limitation”; these persons may have difficulty hearing conversational speech in noisy environments, as well as radio or television.

(World Report on Hearing – Table 1.3)

Note: The White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (paragraph 1.3) provides for statistics on the rate of disabilities in South Africa.

Paragraph 1.3 makes it clear that there is a lack of reliable statistical information in SA. NCPD thus prefer to rely on the World Report on Hearing’s statistics as an indicator for the number of persons with hearing loss in South Africa.

Click here for access to the World Report on Hearing.

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/world-report-on-hearing

Compiled by:

Fanie du Toit

Adult Basic Education Practitioner – Unisa 1994

Contact Fanie du Toit

Senior Specialist: Hearing impairment or deaf affairs

National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities

faniedt@ncpd.org.za

fanie.dt@mweb.co.za

peersupport@faniedreams.com

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