Apple Shares Insights From Ongoing U.S. Hearing Study
Newly released data from Apple is shedding some light on hearing health trends across the United States. For the past year, Apple has been collaborating with the University of Michigan School of Public Health and collecting sound-exposure data from the apple watches and iPhones of thousands of participants. While this study is ongoing and aims to more thoroughly examine how sound exposure impacts hearing, stress levels, and cardiovascular health, researchers already see interesting data trends emerging. Earlier this month, Apple released a few of their key findings from the hearing study so far:
20% of participants have hearing loss (by WHO standards).
10% of participants have been diagnosed with hearing loss, the majority of whom (75%) do not use devices to provide hearing support like hearing aids.
25% of participants encounter ringing in their ears weekly.
1 in 10 participants has an average weekly headphone exposure that is above the WHO’s recommended limit.
The daily average environmental sound exposure for 25% of participants is above WHO’s recommended limit.
Apple’s latest data indicates that hearing loss is a prevalent issue in our population and may even increase pervasiveness as our environments and daily lives become noisier. Also, the study shows that many people lack the hearing support needed to ease or prevent the progression of their hearing loss conditions. We look forward to learning more about Apple’s findings, as we can all use this information to help us foster better hearing health in the future. You can see Apple’s news release on the study here.
If you believe that you or a loved one are experiencing hearing loss, contact us to request an appointment. For more tips and information on protecting your hearing and promoting overall hearing health, check out our other blog posts and follow our Roanoke and Crozet Facebook pages.
