FOI REF: FOI/2022/3643

You asked

Please supply the following information:

How many deaf people there are in England

How many pre-lingually deaf people there are in England

How many deaf people are held in English prisons at this time

How many deaf people there are in Wales

How many pre-lingually deaf people there are in Wales

How many deaf people are held in Welsh prisons at this time

How many deaf people there are in Scotland

How many pre-lingually deaf people there are in Scotland

How many deaf people are held in Scottish prisons at this time

We said

​Thank you for your request.

Unfortunately, we do not hold data regarding prevalence of hearing impairments in the UK.

Department of Work and Pensions would be better placed to answer your enquiry. They produce prevalence of disability in the UK, including prevalence of hearing impairment, which can be found here.

You may also find the following from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) useful about the latest facts and figures on hearing loss and tinnitus: https://rnid.org.uk/about-us/research-and-policy/facts-and-figures/.

We can produce a bespoke analysis using the Annual Population Survey, but this would only capture those with a hearing impairment among those reporting long standing health conditions or illness between the ages of 16-64 years old, so this may not meet your needs.

If you do wish to order a special extracts and tabulation of health data for England and Wales these are subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate.

Such enquiries should be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.