* About 500 million people throughout the world suffer from some kind of hearing loss.

* 1 in 10 people suffer from hearing loss to the degree that they would benefit from using a hearing aid.

* It is estimated that 6.5% of the total working population suffer from hearing loss.

* A recent survey showed that the percentage of people with hearing loss that actually used a hearing aid is declining .

* Studies have shown that in places of work where ear plugs should be worn a large number of people do not wear them.

* Recent research proved that 13% of the Danish population have some form of hearing loss.

* When fitted with a hearing aid most people reported a big improvement in their hearing.

* Only 1 in 8 people who need a hearing test will go for one.

* A German study concluded that 70% of people wearing a digital hearing aid said their everyday life had improved drastically.

* At least 1.4 million of those suffering from hearing loss are under the age of 18 years.

* People who are in industrial jobs are twice as likely to suffer from a problem with hearing loss later in life than those in office jobs.

* It is estimated that by 2015 there will be well over 700 million hearing impaired people throughout the world.

* A study has shown that 10% of all English adults have experienced spontaneous tinnitus at some time in their life.

* A third of the population who are older than 70 have significant problems due to tinnitus.

* Severe to profound hearing loss is thought to cost society on average $300,000 over the lifetime per person.

* Surveys reveal that the number one main factor in hearing loss is caused by noise levels.

* Anyone can be affected by tinnitus but it can be helped.

* Most TV stations still only have captioning and subtitles on a limited basis.

* By the end of 2008 50% of all programmes on French TV will have subtitles.

* A minimum of half of all programmes shown in Norway will have subtitles or closed caption by the end of 2005.

* In the UK the smaller TV channels such as BBC3 and 4 provide subtitles for about half their programmes.

* The major cause of hearng loss is due to ageing.

* Our hearing will gradually get worse from the age of 40 onwards.

* About half of all cases of hearing loss in children is associated with a gene mutation.

* If left untreated hearing loss can lead to social and physiological problems.