A summary of changes over time
Hearing & hearing aids
Percentage of men and women reporting some difficulty with hearing by age: Great Britain, 2002
Between 1979 and 2002 there was an increase in the proportion of adults reporting hearing difficulties, from 13% to 16%. Most of this change occurred between 1979 and 1992, mainly among the older age groups. It has remained relatively stable since.
The percentage of people reporting that they wore a hearing aid doubled from 2% in 1979 to 4% in 2002. Hearing difficulties are strongly associated with age and sex.
For example, the likelihood of a man aged 75 and over wearing a hearing aid almost doubled between 1979 and 2002 (from 12% to 23%). During the same period, the proportion of women aged 75 and over wearing a hearing aid rose from 12% to 17%.
For more detailed information, please download the Hearing & hearing aids PDF on the right-hand side of the page.
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Households