adult screening programme

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Hearing loss (adult)

Hearing loss, or deafness, is when hearing is affected by a disease, disorder or injury. Hearing loss can be present at birth or develop in childhood or adulthood.

Read more about hearing loss on the NHS website.

UK NSC screening recommendation Based on the last UK NSC review of this condition that occurred in March 2021.

Screening is not currently recommended for this condition.

The UK NSC does not recommend screening for hearing loss in adults. This is because:

  • new screening tests, such as smartphone apps, were identified but they were not accurate enough
  • although the main treatment would be the use of hearing aids, it is unclear how willing people would be to use them
  • there was no evidence on whether people were likely to have better health if they did use hearing aids after being screened
  • it is unclear how well hearing loss in adults is already identified and managed in the UK at present, without a screening programme

Supporting documents from the 2021 review

Evidence review
This document provides the evidence on which the current UK NSC recommendation is based.

Coversheet
This document summarises the review process including the public consultation comments.

Review cycle

Date previous review completed: 2021

Next review estimated to be completed: 2024 to 2025.

To see previous evidence reviews, visit the UK NSC archive.

Organisations interested in Hearing loss (adult)

These organisations have expressed interest in this recommendation and may submit responses to evidence reviews.

List of organisations

If you think your organisation should be added, please contact us.