For Veterans

Significance of Hearing Loss - More than 28 million people in the United States are hearing impaired. This communication disorder can affect social and vocational function and impede those rehabilitation efforts that involve speech communication. The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age. More than 19 million patients with hearing problems are at least 45 years of age. In addition, 25% to 40% of all persons over the age of 65 are affected. A majority of the population served by VA medical centers falls within this older group. The largest group of veterans with service-connected disabilities (over 300,000), have service-connected hearing disorders. Moreover, these statistics do not include veterans who now are eligible for treatment under new legislation, the Eligibility Reform Act. The socioeconomic impact of this epidemic of hearing impairment never has been evaluated rigorously, but clearly, it is vast.

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