The majority of Canadians with a hearing disability face communication barriers

World Hearing Day is right around the corner on March 3; it’s an opportunity to remind ourselves of the day-to-day challenges of persons with hearing disabilities.

The 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) has some key information on Canadians with hearing disabilities. Here’s a snapshot of the findings and what they reveal about the realities of living with hearing loss in Canada.

In 2022, 5.6% of Canadians aged 15 years and older (or over 1.6 million people) had a hearing disability. A person is considered to have a hearing disability if their daily activities are limited because of their difficulties with their ability to hear (even with their hearing aid or cochlear implant, if applicable).

Older age groups were more likely to report a hearing disability. Almost one in seven Canadians aged 65 years and older (13.6%) reported having a hearing disability, while Canadians aged 45 to 64 years (5.4%), 25 to 44 years (2.4%) and 15 to 24 years (1.5%) were less likely to report this.

Almost two-thirds (64.7%) of Canadians aged 15 years and older with hearing disabilities reported experiencing a barrier to accessibility related to communication in 2022, according to an analysis of CSD data.

Communication-related barriers can occur in a wide range of situations such as in-person, over the phone, by chat or video conferencing.

This year’s World Hearing Day theme focuses on hearing care for children, including early identification of hearing issues as well as their prevention. The 2023 Canadian Health Survey for Children and Youth (CHSCY) provides information on younger Canadians with functional difficulties, including hearing-related difficulties.

In 2023, the CHSCY found that equal proportions of children and youth aged 2 to 4 years and 5 to 17 years (0.3% for each age group) had a hearing-related functional difficulty (difficulty in hearing sounds like people’s voices or music, for example).