As the aging rates of Japan and Taiwan are increasing,i.e., 27.7% (as of Oct. 2017 ) and 14% (as of Apr. 2018) respectively, our societies are entering the phase ofsuper-aged and aged societies. Accordingly, we anticipatethe increase number of age-related hearing impairedpopulation in both countries. Uchida et al. conducted astudy on the prevalence rate of age-related hearing loss(ARHL) among Japanese elderly people , anddiscovered more than 70% of people above 70 years oldhave ARHL. Along with the estimates of Japanesepopulation in the next years , we can easily estimate theARHL populations: By 2030, we will have more than 2.5million ARHL patients in Japan, which is 22% of the entireJapanese population. That says, ARHL will become amajor disease, and hearing impaired people will be nolonger minority in our society. We need to prepare oursocial environment for such circumstances.Standardization of signal types and sound pressure levelsfor consumer products is one of the model examples forsuch efforts.
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