Ninety percent of deaf people have hearing parents or siblings. Ongoing exposure to noise, such as machinery or loud music, causes nerve damage in the inner ear, resulting in varying degrees of hearing loss. But the International Center for Hearing and Speech Research at NTID has recently found that chemical changes in the brain play a major role in hearing loss, and could be corrected with medication within 20 years. This program is the nation's leading research effort of its kind. A. Males are more likely than females to be deaf or hard of hearing, and more so as men age.
White males are twice as likely as blacks to be deaf or hard of hearing.
Non-Hispanics are also more than twice as likely as Hispanics to be deaf or hard of hearing. In adults, the prevalence of hearing impairment is greater for those who are not high school graduates. The prevalence of hearing impairment at all ages decreases as family income increases. All rights reserved.