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Hearing Loss Information

Hearing loss affects approximately 48 million Americans. About 500,000 of them are Wisconsin residents. Hearing loss can be attributed to: genetics, disease, exposure to noise, medications and as a result of the natural aging process. An individual's right to decide what, if any, treatment works for them is just that, a right. At the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing we provide non-biased information and referral to consumers wishing to know more about hearing loss and its implications.

Where can I find information on hearing loss?

Causes of Hearing Loss

  • American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA)

  • eMedicineHealth

  • National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

Resources on Types of Hearing Loss

Whether the hearing loss is conductive, sensorineural, or mixed there are implications for each.

Hearing Loss in Children

Programs in Wisconsin serving families who have children with a hearing loss

  • HEAR Wisconsin (formally known as Center for the Communication, Hearing & Deafness, CDHH)

  • Deaf Mentor Project (DMP)

  • Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WESPDHH)

  • Wisconsin Families for Hands and Voices (WFHV)

  • Wisconsin Sound Beginnings (WSB)

Veterans with Hearing Loss

Hearing loss & Seniors

Statistics estimate that nearly 25 percent of those aged 65 - 74 and 50 percent of those who are 75 and older have a hearing loss.

  • Deaf Seniors of America (DSA)

  • Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA)

  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: Senior Health (NIDOCD)

Where can I find general information on hearing technology?

Last revised October 5, 2020