THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC COST OF HEARING LOSS IN AUSTRALIA

Hearing Care Industry Association – June 2017
This report is prepared solely for the use of the Hearing Care Industry Association (HCIA). This report is not intended to and should not be used or relied upon by anyone else and we accept no duty of care to any other person or entity. The report has been prepared for the purpose of raising awareness of the economic cost of hearing impairment in Australia, aid HCIA’s advocacy efforts, and inform policymaking, to ensure available resources are directed towards the most effective preventive and therapeutic interventions. You should not refer to or use our name or the advice for any other purpose.
Executive summary
In 2006, Access Economics quantified the impact and estimated impact of both the financial costs and the loss of wellbeing from hearing loss in Australia in 2005. The Hearing Care Industry Association (HCIA) has commissioned Deloitte Access Economics to update this report for 2017, with the intention of raising awareness of the economic cost of hearing impairment in Australia and to inform policymaking. Information from research analysis is important to help ensure that available resources are directed towards the most effective preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Key Findings
The prevalence of hearing loss, in the better ear, is estimated to be 3.6 million people in Australia in 2017, which is expected to more than double to 7.8 million by 2060. Almost half (49%) of childhood hearing loss is preventable, as is over a third (37%) of adult hearing loss. The financial costs of hearing loss in 2017 were estimated as $15.9 billion, and the value of the lost wellbeing as $17.4 billion, for total costs of $33.3 billion. Extending the hearing aid voucher program to unemployed people would yield $5.20 in benefits for each dollar spent.
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