China Hearing Health Report 2025 Focuses on Older Adults

On December 16 in Beijing, the China Hearing Medicine Development Foundation and Social Sciences Academic Press jointly released the China Hearing Health Report (2025): Hearing Health in Older Adults. The accompanying launch photograph was supplied by the organizers.

Drawing on China's Second National Sample Survey of Disability, the report says hearing loss affected 11.04% of adults aged 60 and older, the highest prevalence among the surveyed age groups. It estimates that at least 20 million people in that age group had hearing loss. It also states that about one-third of people over 65 had a hearing disability and that about 90% of people over 80 experienced hearing loss.

For hearing decline among people aged 60 and older, the survey attributed 67.02% of cases to age-related loss, 8.93% to unknown causes, 8.64% to otitis media, 5.22% to systemic disease, 3.55% to noise or blast exposure, 1.81% to drug toxicity and 4.83% to other causes. The report describes age-related hearing loss as typically gradual and symmetrical in both ears, often affecting high frequencies and sometimes accompanied by tinnitus or difficulty recognizing speech. It also discusses an association with cognitive impairment.

Effects on daily life and cognition

The report says reduced speech communication, social and emotional connection, and awareness of hazards can diminish older people's health and quality of life. It cites figures claiming that Alzheimer's disease occurs two, three and five times as often among older people with mild, moderate and severe hearing loss, respectively, as among those with normal hearing. Researchers have proposed that listening effort may consume cognitive resources otherwise used for language, memory, walking and driving; the report presents lasting neural change as a hypothesis, not a demonstrated outcome for an individual.

Hearing aids and support

According to the report, studies suggest hearing devices can improve quality of life, psychological wellbeing and social participation. Hearing aids are a common intervention for age-related hearing loss, using amplification and signal processing to make external sounds easier to receive. Yet the survey found that only 10% of people with hearing loss in China used hearing-assistive devices, with use especially low among older adults and the oldest age groups.

The report calls for public education about hearing aids and realistic expectations, alongside fitting, maintenance and troubleshooting support and auditory training. Its stated aim is to improve uptake, independence and quality of life and to reduce social withdrawal and possible secondary problems. Whether any particular device or program prevents cognitive decline, depression or Alzheimer's disease is not established by these survey figures.

Cochlear implants

The report says cochlear implants can improve hearing and speech perception for some older recipients, including understanding speech in quiet and noisy settings. In China, however, implantation has been more common among children than older adults. The report recommends accessible information for older people and families, better insurance and procurement policies, more equitable medical resources, individualized postoperative rehabilitation, follow-up and family support.

Remaining gaps

The report describes research and practice in hearing rehabilitation for older adults in China as relatively early compared with more established systems elsewhere. It identifies limited public awareness, shortages of trained specialists and delays in developing and applying rehabilitation technology as challenges. It calls for prevention and screening, broader access to hearing devices, stronger policy and financial support, service-system development, audiology training, family and community support, and more basic and clinical research.

Source credit: CNR News.