This is a report published by The Ear Foundation calls for a national screening programme for hearing loss to be introduced for adults. Written by The Ear Foundation’s Chief Executive, Dr Sue Archbold with Brian Lamb OBE, Ciaran O’Neill PhD and John Atkins MBA, it claims to be the first document to bring together a comprehensive assessment for the UK of the cost of hearing loss and deafness it estimates to be over £30 billion per annum on a conservative basis.
These costs relate to both the direct costs of treating hearing loss, which are comparatively low, and the much larger costs of dealing with the health and social impacts of hearing loss. It is reasonable to assume that these costs in particular are capable of being reduced if hearing loss is properly addressed in a greater proportion of the deaf population.