Over 10 million deaf people in Brazil, 80% of elderly patients have no hearing aid

According to the South American Overseas Chinese Daily News, recently, a survey conducted by the Brazilian research institute Locomotiva and the “Deaf Accessibility Week” showed that the number of deaf people nationwide has reached 10.7 million, of which 2.3 million have severe Hearing impaired.Of the elderly deaf patients interviewed, 87% were not wearing hearing aids.

According to reports, 54% of the total number of deaf persons are male and 46% are female.By age, 57% of hearing impaired patients are mostly older than 60 years.According to survey data, 9% of all deaf people are congenital deafness, 91% have acquired disability, and half of the latter are under 50 when they are sick.The data also show that 15% of people with severe hearing impairment are congenital deaf.

“The hearing impairment is a type of disability and it has been worsening for many years,” said Merreles, head of Locomotiva.Brazil is gradually entering the age of aging. At present, the number of people over 50 in the country has reached 59 million. It is expected that this number will exceed 98 million by 2050.Obviously, society is not ready for this. “He emphasized that at a time when the country’s elderly population is increasing, it is becoming increasingly important to provide inclusive work and living environments for the deaf.

According to statistics, two-thirds of the deaf said that they will encounter obstacles in daily activities.The lack of social acceptance and inclusiveness restricts the employment opportunities and education of deaf people.Of all deaf people, only 7% have completed higher education; 15% have completed high school; 46% have only basic education; and 32% have no education.

It is reported that the survey shows that 20% of elderly deaf patients cannot go out alone, only 37% enter the labor market and 87% do not wear hearing aids.“This is because hearing aid equipment is too expensive for most people and difficult to buy,” Merelez explained.

He also said: “As hearing-impaired patients have lower educational opportunities than those with normal hearing and are less likely to get jobs in the job market, it is more difficult for deaf people to earn enough money to buy hearing aids.Many prejudices in society form a vicious circle, making deaf people unable to get the same opportunities in life as those with hearing. “

A 30-year-old deaf woman in São Paulo said in an investigation: “When I first started working, people thought I couldn’t complete the task.It took them a long time to believe that I had the ability to work, but sometimes they still looked at me with discrimination and distrust, just because I was like this (I have hearing impairment). “

The survey was conducted from September 1 to 5, and a total of 1,500 deaf and hearing-impaired people were interviewed. According to the data, 90% of Brazilians are in favor of protecting the rights of deaf people.

According to statistics, the southeast region of Brazil has the largest number of deaf people, accounting for 42% of the total number of such patients in the country, followed by the northeast and 26% of the south, and the lowest in the central and western and northern regions. 6% and 7%.Among all hearing impaired patients in China, 28% also suffer from some type of visual impairment, and 2% also suffer from mental retardation.

According to the World Health Organization (OMS), there are currently about 500 million deaf people worldwide, and this number is expected to increase to 1 billion by 2050.