Ear health in Australia
In Australia:
- about 3.6 million people have some level of hearing loss
- noise exposure is one of the biggest causes of preventable hearing loss
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have a much higher rate of ear disease than other children, which can result in hearing loss.
As Australia’s population ages, we expect the number of people with a hearing impairment to double to an estimated 7.8 million people in 2060.
Read about what we're doing to reduce the incidence and consequences of avoidable hearing loss in Australia.
About hearing loss
Hearing loss is a reduced ability to hear. It ranges from mild to complete hearing loss.
Many factors can cause hearing loss, including:
- age – hearing loss increases from about half of those aged 60 to 70, to 70% of those aged 70 and over, and 80% of those aged 80 and over
- exposure to loud noise – this is often preventable
- untreated ear disease
- genetics.
Know Your Noise
Impacts of hearing loss
Poor ear and hearing health is a serious problem that can have profound lifelong consequences. Many ear diseases and conditions can affect ear health, and lead to hearing loss.
Hearing loss can:
- affect a child’s ability to listen, learn and talk
- result in lower school attendance
- affect a person’s ability to get an education and find work
- affect social and emotional wellbeing, including a higher risk of low self-esteem, low confidence, memory loss and depression
- lead to social isolation.
Read more about:
Managing hearing loss
Hearing loss can make it difficult to communicate. To make it easier:
- make sure hearing aids are turned on
- keep background noise to a minimum
- speak slowly and clearly
- rephrase the sentence when not understood
- communicate in writing
- use a translation app.
Get help with your hearing and read more about ways to prevent and manage hearing loss.
Tinnitus
Tinnitus refers to sounds such as ringing in the ears which you can hear, but do not come from outside of you. Tinnitus is more common in people with hearing loss but can happen to anyone. Some types of tinnitus can be due to medical causes, so it is important to report tinnitus to your doctor or hearing health professional.
We do not fund any tinnitus-specific programs.
Read more about ways to manage tinnitus.
Find support services
Find more information and support services.