Economics of hearing disability

Hearing loss affects 1.57 billion (or one in five) of the global population. Untreated hearing loss can have a profound impact on individuals’ quality of life, socialization, employment and income. A well-designed social protection program has significant potential to reduce the adverse impacts of hearing loss and secure the economic wellbeing of individuals with hearing loss. However, there has been a call for a better understanding of how well individuals with hearing loss are integrated into social protection programs and policies. This entry summarizes existing information based on primary and secondary sources about hearing loss-related social care in three diverse health systems, identifies barriers to accessing social protection policies and proposes recommendations.

Overall, the entry provides an understanding of hearing loss-related social care policies and their challenges. It is found that although the Hearing Service Program (HSP) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia were promising in regard to offering hearing-related social care, gaps still persisted in access and service provision, particularly for working-age Australians. Comparative analysis reveals that access to social care in the United States of America appears to fall far below the need, and a more equitable and integrated hearing-related social welfare in the United Kingdom provides valuable insights for policy refinements. The entry suggests that integrating over-the-counter hearing aids into publicly funded hearing healthcare systems has significant potential for accessing coverage and addressing affordability issues in the United States of America and Australia. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of a more integrated social protection policy in Australia and the United States of America to attain more equitable outcomes.