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Leading the World in Public Health and Policy Solutions for Hearing and Aging

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES

Hearing loss isn't just an inconvenience. It's a critical public health issue impacting how older adults engage with their world.

What We’re Addressing:
  • Individuals walking in different directions as seen from above

    Epidemiology of Hearing Loss

    Highlighting the substantial impact of hearing loss in society

    Epidemiology of Hearing Loss
  • Hands belonging to a white-coated physician point to MRI scans on a tablet

    Cognition and Brain Aging

    Exploring connections between hearing loss and the risk of cognitive decline and dementia

    Cognition and Brain Aging
  • Two people handling a hearing device in the foreground, with mirror with a black frame in the background

    Hearing Care and Delivery

    Testing hearing care and delivery models that improve health care outcomes and expand access to care

    Hearing Care and Delivery
  • An individual in scrubs with a stethoscope operates a calculator with one hand while holding a phone in the other

    Health Services and Economics

    Understanding the direct and indirect economic implications of hearing loss for individuals and society

    Health Services and Economics
Percentage of Individuals with Hearing Loss by Age and Severity Infographic

Get the Facts

Hearing loss affects 1/4 of adults in their 60s and nearly 2/3 of Americans over 70. All older adults deserve access to the tolls they need for healthy aging, but there are gaps in who gets hearing care. Less than 20% of adults with hearing loss use a hearing aid and that rate is even lower among low-income adults.

Want the basics?

Read Hearing Loss 101

Ready to dive in?

Browse All Resources

LEADING THE WAY IN RESEARCH

Our groundbreaking research and programs make a difference across policy and healthcare settings.

Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health

Policy Brief Highlight

Medicare Coverage for Hearing Treatment: Inadequate and Ready for Improvement
March 3, 2021

Policy Brief Highlight

Learn something new every month!

Our monthly seminar series features speakers with expertise in a wide variety of topics around hearing, aging, and public health. They are free and open to the public.

The 2024-2025 Seminar Series lineup is now available. Make plans to join us each month!

TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION

Graduate students, audiologists, physicians, and medical students from around the world come to learn at the Center.

STAY IN THE KNOW

What's New

Introducing the Hearing Number App

New app makes it free, fast, and easy to test hearing in each ear. The app is part of a public health campaign about the importance of monitoring, protecting, and optimizing hearing at all ages.

Jan 13, 2025

Learn More
Frank R. Lin, MD, PhD
Frank Lin, MD, PhD
Lead creator of the Hearing Number app, and director of the Cochlear
EXPERT VOICES

"Right now, the problem with hearing loss is that it becomes like a life event to get a hearing aid," says Frank Lin, MD, PhD. But "if you treat hearing as just a metric that changes over your lifetime, you can begin using various technologies across your lifetime to help you hear and communicate better."

Test your hearing at home with new app from School of Public Health: Optimizing hearing at every age begins with knowing our Hearing Numbers
The JHU Hub, January 13, 2025