Deafness

Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in the UK

There are 9 million Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in the UK. That's one in seven of the UK population, and this number is rising as the number of people over 60 increases. About 698,000 of these people are severely or profoundly deaf. Another 450,000 of them are severely or profoundly deaf and cannot hear well enough to use a voice telephone, even with equipment to make it louder. However, people who cannot use voice telephones can use textphones or videophones.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing children in the UK

In the UK, there are about 20,000 children under 16 years old who are moderately to profoundly deaf. About 12,000 of these were born deaf. There are more than 30,000 deaf children and young people.

Children who are born deaf are sometimes called "prelingually" deaf because they were deaf before they developed language. They have particular educational needs.

About one in every 1,000 children is deaf at three years old. This rises to two in every 1,000 children aged nine to 16. And an estimated 840 children are born in the UK every year with significant deafness; that is, moderate to profound deafness.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in your area

The following tables show estimated numbers for the UK, and for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. If you know the size of the population in your area, and how it breaks down by age group, you can use the percentages in the first table to calculate estimates for your area.

 

UK	16 to 60 years old	Over 60 years old	Total
Mild/moderate deafness	2,366,000	5,891,000	8,257,000
Severe/profound deafness	108,000	580,000	688,000
All degrees of deafness	2,474,000	6,471,000	8,945,000
England	16 to 60 years old	Over 60 years old	Total
Mild/moderate deafness	1,981,000	4,930,000	6,911,000
Severe/profound deafness	90,000	487,000	577,000
All degrees of deafness	2,071,000	5,417,000	7,488,000
Scotland	16 to 60 years old	Over 60 years old	Total
Mild/moderate deafness	203,000	498,000	701,000
Severe/profound deafness	9,000	48,000	57,000
All degrees of deafness	212,000	546,000	758,000
Wales	16 to 60 years old	Over 60 years old	Total
Mild/moderate deafness	118,000	321,000	439,000
Severe/profound deafness	5,000	31,000	36,000
All degrees of deafness	123,000	352,000	475,000
Northern Ireland	16 to 60 years old	Over 60 years old	Total
Mild/moderate deafness	62,000	140,000	202,000
Severe/profound deafness	3,000	14,000	17,000
All degrees of deafness	65,000	154,000	219,000

Source: from RNID

 

Donations

 

Merseyside Society for Deaf People is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.

Company Registration Number (England) 3389496

Charity Registration Number (England) 1065021

Registered Office Queens Drive, West Derby, Liverpool L13 0DJ