Research conducted into hearing impairment tends to produce statistics drawn from surveys of either teenagers or senior ages! Yet reported cases of noise induced hearing loss also include middle aged men and women too. According to one recent study, one in nine of adults aged between 45 and 54 possess reduced hearing function, while generally, one in seven suffer a more pronounced hearing loss.

One striking result of the survey of 3,285 participants aged between 21 to 84, with an average age of 49, showed hearing deficiency would double as the age group increased by ten years. So while hearing loss affected 6 per cent in the 35 and 44 age group, the figure reached 11 per cent in those aged 45 to 54, and more than doubled again to 25 per cent of adults between the ages of 55 and 64. The increase was nearly double again at 40 per cent for those aged 65 and older and around 90% for those aged 80 or over.

Medical research has often pointed out that hearing loss is not necessarily a part of the aging process. It is associated with communication restrictions, poor quality of life, dementia and cognitive problems. Findings from the survey appear to give further weight to past evidence that it is far more likely exposure to excessive noise causes hearing damage, which leads to long term, deteriorating hearing loss or severe industrial deafness.

The study measured word recognition at different sound levels and hearing impairment as a pure-tone average greater than 25 decibels in either ear. It was found that hearing impairment was more likely to be present in males with lower education levels and employed in noisy occupations or with a history of ear surgery.

In addition to long term exposure to excessive noise levels at work, other contributory factors to a loss in hearing include having a parent who also has hearing loss, and, possibly, a heart condition as well. Past research shows a relationship between noise exposure, raised blood pressure and heart attack symptoms, which can particularly affect males aged around 50 and/or current smokers.