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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Hearing and Other Sensory or Communication Disorders Workgroup

Lead Federal Agencies

With the goal of reducing the prevalence and severity of disorders of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language, the Hearing and Other Sensory or Communication Disorders (HOSCD) Workgroup developed the objectives related to sensory or communication disorders. The workgroup will provide data to track progress toward achieving the objectives throughout the decade.

Read more about the Hearing and Other Sensory or Communication Disorders Workgroup

Read more about the Hearing and Other Sensory or Communication Disorders Workgroup

Objective Status

  • 0 Target met or exceeded
  • 0 Improving
  • 3 Little or no detectable change
  • 0 Getting worse
  • 9 Baseline only
  • 0 Developmental
  • 0 Research

Learn more about objective types

Hearing and Other Sensory or Communication Disorders Workgroup Objectives (12)

Increase the proportion of newborns who get screened for hearing loss by age 1 month — HOSCD‑01
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of infants who didn’t pass their hearing screening who get evaluated for hearing loss by age 3 months — HOSCD‑02
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of infants with hearing loss who get intervention services by age 6 months — HOSCD‑03
Little or no detectable change
Reduce ear infections in children — HOSCD‑04
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents with communication disorders who have seen a specialist in the past year — HOSCD‑05
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults who have had a hearing exam in the past 5 years — HOSCD‑06
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults with hearing loss who use a hearing aid — HOSCD‑07
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults who use hearing protection devices around loud sounds — HOSCD‑08
Baseline only
Reduce the proportion of adults who have hearing loss due to noise exposure — HOSCD‑09
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults with tinnitus that started in the past 5 years who have seen a specialist — HOSCD‑10
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults with dizziness or balance problems who have been referred to a specialist — HOSCD‑11
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults with smell or taste disorders who discuss the problem with a provider — HOSCD‑12
Baseline only

About the Workgroup

Approach and Rationale

Communication and sensory processes are important for health and well-being. The World Health Organization estimates that 466 million people have disabling hearing loss and that this number will nearly double by 2050.1 In the United States, hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition,2 and an estimated 1 in 6 people have a moderate-to-severe communication disorder.3 Problems with communication or balance can lead to social isolation, difficulty understanding medical advice, and limited educational and professional success.4,5,6,7 And problems with taste or smell can lead to poor nutrition and the inability to detect smoke, gas leaks, or spoiled foods.8,9

The objectives selected by the HOSCD Workgroup aim to ensure that all Americans benefit from scientific advances in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of communication disorders. Core objectives and targets selected by the workgroup align with federal priorities and aim to prevent these disorders and support early identification and treatment.

Understanding Hearing and Other Sensory or Communication Disorders

Many factors influence the numbers of Americans diagnosed with and treated for communication disorders, including:

  • A wide socioeconomic gap in overall health and access to care10
  • Failure to use needed hearing aids — common barriers are high cost and perceived stigma11
  • Unhealthy lifestyle choices — for example, tobacco use and overexposure to loud noise12,13,14,15 
  • An aging population, coupled with improving survival rates for medically fragile infants and people with severe injuries and diseases16,17,18,19
  • Genetics
  • Injury
  • Sensitivity to certain drugs or medications
  • Viral and bacterial infections

Conditions present at birth can also influence treatment and intervention options. Infants can now receive hearing aids, cochlear implants, and sign language instruction.20,21 All U.S. states now help ensure screening for newborn hearing loss, follow up, and enrollment in early intervention services.22

Emerging issues in Hearing and Other Sensory or Communication Disorders

Emerging issues in this field include:

  • Accommodation of the needs of a diverse and aging population
  • Improved accessibility to affordable hearing amplification
  • Lagging recognition of the impact of hearing loss on quality of life
  • Increases in combat-related blast exposure leading to a dramatic rise in traumatic brain injury, hearing loss, tinnitus, and balance disorders in military personnel
  • Reducing noise-induced hearing loss through increased use of hearing protection devices (ear plugs, ear muffs) and research into hair cell protection and regeneration (inner ear hair cells are key to our ability to hear)
  • Identifying the genetic components of many disorders
  • Improved understanding of co-occurring and related conditions — for example, diagnosing neurological disease through tests of olfactory (smell) function and better understanding of the relationships between hearing loss and diabetes23,24,25,26,27

Learn More

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH)
It’s a Noisy Planet. Protect Their Hearing.® (NIH and HHS)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH)
Hearing Loss in Children (CDC)
Loud Noise Can Cause Hearing Loss (CDC)
Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention (CDC)
Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Health Resources and Services Administration)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Citations

1.

World Health Organization. (2019). Deafness and Hearing Loss. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss

2.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Occupational Hearing Loss (OHL) Surveillance. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/surveillance/

3.

Association for Research in Otolaryngology. (2019). Burden of Ear, Nose and Throat – Voice, Speech and Language Disorders Based on United States Health Surveys, 2011-2016. 42nd Annual MidWinter Meeting [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://aro.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2019-ARO-MWM-Abstracts-FINAL.pdf

4.

Ward, B.K., Agrawal, Y., Hoffman, H.J., Carey, J.P., & Della Santina, C.C. (2013). Prevalence and impact of bilateral vestibular hypofunction: results from the 2008 US National Health Interview Survey. JAMA Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, 139(8), 803-810. DOI: 10.1001/jamaoto.2013.3913

5.

Li, C.M., et al. (2014). Hearing Impairment Associated with Depression in US Adults, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2010. JAMA Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, 140(4), 293-301. DOI: 10.1001/jamaoto.2014.42

6.

Ingram, M, et al. (2016). Addressing Hearing Health Care Disparities Among Older Adults in a US-Mexico Border Community. Frontiers in Public Health, 41(169), 1-8. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00169

7.

Li, C.M., Hoffman, H.J., Ward, B.K., Cohen, H.S., & Rine, R.M. (2016). Epidemiology of Dizziness and Balance Problems in Children in the United States: A Population-Based Study. The Journal of Pediatrics, 171, 240-247. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.12.002

8.

Pence, T.S., Reiter, E.R., DiNardo, L.J., Costanzo, R.M. Risk Factors for Hazardous Events in Olfactory-Impaired Patients. JAMA Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, 140(10), 951-955. DOI: 10.1001/jamaoto.2014.1675

9.

Hoffman, H.J., Rawal, S., Li, C.M., & Duffy V.B. (2016). New Chemosensory Component in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): First-Year Results for Measured Olfactory Dysfunction. Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, 17(2), 221-40. DOI: 10.1007/s11154-016-9364-1

10.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2016). 2015 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report and 5th Anniversary Update on the National Quality Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqdr15/2015nhqdr.pdf

11.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Hearing Health Care for Adults: Priorities for Improving Access and Affordability. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/catalog/23446/hearing-health-care-for-adults-priorities-for-improving-access-and

12.

Agrawal, Y., Platz, E.A., & Niparko, J.K. (2009). Risk Factors for Hearing Loss in US Adults: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2002. Otology and Neurotology, 30(2), 139-45. DOI: 10.1097/MAO.0b013e318192483c

13.

Masterson, E.A., Themann, C.L., Luckhaupt, S.E., Li, J., & Calvert, G.M. (2016). Hearing Difficulty and Tinnitus Among U.S. Workers and Non-workers in 2007. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 59(4), 290-300. DOI: 10.1002/ajim.22565

14.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). It’s Loud Out There: Hearing Health Across the Lifespan. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/grand-rounds/pp/2017/20170620-hearing-health.html

15.

Hoffman, H.J., Dobie, R.A., Losonczy, K.G., Themann, C.L., & Flamme, G.A. Declining Prevalence of Hearing Loss in US Adults Aged 20 to 69 Years. JAMA Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, 143(3), 274-85. DOI: 10.1001/jamaoto.2016.3527.

16.

Van Eyken, E., Van Camp, G., Van Laer, L. (2007). The Complexity of Age-Related Hearing Impairment: Contributing Environmental and Genetic Factors. Audiology and Neurootology, 12(6), 345-58. DOI: 10.1159/000106478

17.

Dillon, C.F., Gu, Q., Hoffman, H.J., & Ko, C.W. (2010). Vison, Hearing, Balance, and Sensory Impairment in Americans Aged 70 Years and Older: United States, 1999-2006. NCHS Data Brief, 31, 1-8. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db31.pdf

18.

National Institutes of Health. (2017). NIDCD Strategic Plan: FY 2017–2021. Retrieved from https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/about/strategic-plan/2017-2021

19.

Hoffman, H.J., Dobie, R.A., Losonczy, K.G., Themann, C.L., & Flamme, G.A. (2019). Kids Nowadays Hear Better Than We Did: Declining Prevalence of Hearing Loss in US Youth, 1966–2010. The Laryngoscope, 129(8), 1922-39. DOI: 10.1002/lary.27419

20.

Sininger, Y.S., et al. (2009). Newborn Hearing Screening Speeds Diagnosis and Access to Intervention by 20 to 25 months. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 20(1), 49-57. DOI: 10.3766/jaaa.20.1.5

21.

Williams, T.R., Alam, S., & Gaffney, M. (2015). Progress in Identifying Infants with Hearing Loss―United States, 2006–2012. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 64(13), 351-356. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6413a4.htm

22.

Chung, W., et al. (2017). Reporting Newborn Audiologic Results to State EHDI Programs. Ear and Hearing, 38(5), 638-642. DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000443

23.

Schubert, C.R., et al. (2008). Olfaction and the 5-year Incidence of Cognitive Impairment in an Epidemiological Study of Older Adults. Journal of American Geriatrics Society, 56(8), 1517-1521. DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.01826.x

24.

Tarakad, A., & Jankovic, J. (2017). Anosmia and Ageusia in Parkinson’s Disease. International Review of Neurobiology, 133, 541-556. DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2017.05.028

25.

Doty, R.L., & Hawkes, C.H. (2019). Chemosensory Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 164, 325-360. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-63855-7.00020-4

26.

Bainbridge, K.E., Hoffman, H.J., & Cowie, C.C. (2008). Diabetes and Hearing Impairment in the United States: Audiometric Evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2004. Annals of Internal Medicine, 149(1), 1-10. DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-149-1-200807010-00231

27.

Baiduc, R.R., & Helzner, E.P. (2019). Epidemiology of Diabetes and Hearing Loss. Seminars in Hearing, 40(4), 281-291. DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1697643