When the ability to hear is compromised, the sounds of life begin to fade. According to World Health Organization (WHO), while 466 million (5% of the world’s population) of whom has moderate to profound hearing loss (432 million adults and 34 million children).  In addition, nearly one out of every three persons over 65 years of age are affected by hearing loss.  Furthermore, the population of hearing-impaired people is getting younger and younger.

According to the Special Topics Report No. 62 issued by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department in late 2014, 155 200 persons were with hearing difficulty (prevalence rate of 2.2%). The number of individuals with hearing difficulties in developed countries is expected to increase by almost 50% over the next 20 years. This is due to the dramatic growth in the older population and the increased exposure to excessive noise.

Of the 201 children diagnosed at the Department of Health’s (DH) Child Assessment Service (CAS) with significant hearing impairment in 2003-04, 30% also had borderline developmental delay or mental retardation, 10% had motor delay, 6 % had cerebral palsy and 3 % had significant visual impairment.

Indicated from “Persons with Disabilities and Chronic Diseases”, the number of people with hearing difficulty in Hong Kong increased dramatically from 92,200 in year 2007 (with a prevalence rate of 1.33% among the total population), in year 2007 to 155,200(with a prevalence rate of 2.16% among the total population), in year 2013, consisting of 26.82% of population with disabilities (In 2013, it was estimated that there were 578,600 persons with disabilities).  Up until March 2015, there are 6,273 members in Hong Kong Deaf, in which their degree of hearing loss varies.