Cost

Children who do not receive early intervention cost schools an additional $420,000 and are faced with overall lifetime costs of $1 million in special education, lost wages, and health complications, according to a 1995 study published in the "International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology." The Department of Education indicates that over 70,000 students, ages 6-21, received special education services in 2002 alone, due to their hearing loss.

During the 1999–2000 school year, the total cost in the United States for special education programs for children who were deaf or hard of hearing was $652 million, or $11,006 per child. Source: Center for Disease Control

Early identification of hearing loss and treatment in newborns has a dramatic and positive impact on speech development, language development, and learning. Even a six-month delay in treatment of newborns can make the difference between a special education and a mainstream education. According to a 1993 study by the Marion Downs Center, children who do not require special education save a school system as much as $348,000 during a12-year education. Source: Downs, MP, Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: The Colorado Study, International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 1995, page 32.

Untreated hearing loss is estimated to cost $56 billion in the USA: The societal costs of severe to profound hearing loss in the SUC to be $297,000 per person during that person's life. The largest part of societal costs are a consequence of lost work productivity which is estimated to represent 67% of total costs. Special education for children and young people amount to 21% of societal costs in connection with hearing loss. Source: Internation Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care 2000, vol. 16. Read more.

The lifetime educational cost (year 2007 value) of hearing loss (more than 40 dB permanent loss without other disabilities) has been estimated at $115,600 per child. Source: Grosse SD. Education cost savings from early detection of hearing loss: New findings. Volta Voices 2007;14(6):38-40.)

While there exists a strong correlation between aging and hearing problems, half of the 28 million Americans with hearing problems are under the age of fifty and are active in the work force. Noise exposure, aging and genetic predisposition place this group at risk. According to the Project Hope Study, those with a severe hearing loss still in the workplace are expected to earn only 50-70 percent of their non-hearing impaired peers and lose between $220,000 and $440,000 in earnings over their working life. Source: Mohr, Feldman, Dunbar, The Societal Costs of Severe to Profound Hearing Loss in the United States,Project Hope Policy Analysis Brief, April, 2000, Volume 2, No. 1.

People with communication disorders may be more economically disadvantaged than those with less severe disabilities The data suggest that people with severe speech disabilities are more often found to be unemployed or in a lower economic class than people with hearing loss or other disabilities. Income for hearing impaired people is 40% to 45% of that of the non-hearing impaired population. Communication disorders may cost the United States from $154 billion to $186 billion per year, which is equal to 2.5% to 3% of the Gross National Product. Source: Redefining the survival of the fittest: communication disorders in the 21st century. Ruben R.J (2001)

It is expected that the lifetime costs for all people with hearing loss who were born in 2000 will total $1.9 billion (in 2003 dollars). Direct medical costs, such as doctor visits, prescription drugs, and inpatient hospital stays, will make up 6% of these costs. Direct nonmedical expenses, such as home modifications and special education, will make up 30% of these costs. Indirect costs, which include the value of lost wages when a person cannot work or is limited in the amount or type of work he or she can do, will make up 63% of the costs. ? Note: These estimates do not include other expenses, such as hospital outpatient visits, sign language interpreters, and family out-of-pocket expenses. The actual economic costs of hearing loss, therefore, will be even higher than what is reported here. Source: Grosse SD. Education cost savings from early detection of hearing loss: New findings. Volta Voices 2007;14(6):38-40