According to studies by the World Health Organization (WHO), 28 million of the 190 million Brazilians have hearing problems, a number corresponding to 14% of the Brazilian population.
Studies by IBGE, The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, also show that 9.8 million Brazilians suffer from hearing loss directly. This number represents 5.2% of the Brazilian population of which 2.6 million are deaf and 7.2 million have greater difficulty hearing.
In addition, around 20% of Brazilian pre-school children are estimated to suffer from a degree of hearing loss. Furthermore, 15-20% of the Brazilian population suffer from some type of tinnitus, which corresponds to a fifth of the population.
Studies indicate that these numbers will only increase.
Many people develop lifelong hearing problems because of bad habits, accidents or illness.
Listening to loud music on headphones or at concerts, working in a noisy environment, or having a constant ear infection can all lead to hearing loss. It is therefore important to stay alert to the signs that point to a hearing problem.
The studies show that about 30-35% of all hearing loss is credited to exposure to loud sounds for instance at work or during free time.
Such noise includes loud cars passing on the street, the buzz of the mall’s food court, loud music in headphones etc. In this way, the majority of the hearing impaired acquire hearing problems by being constantly exposed to daily noise.
About the study
The studies were made by IBGE, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, in 2010 and by the World Health Organization in 2011.