Between October 18–21, this website will move to a new web address (from health.gov to odphp.health.gov). During that time, some functions might not work as expected. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we’re working to make this transition as smooth as possible.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Sensory or Communication Disorders

Goal: Prevent sensory and communication disorders and improve quality of life for people who have them.

A health care provider looks into a young boy's ear with an otoscope.

Many people in the United States will have a sensory or communication disorder in their lifetime. This includes problems with vision, hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, or language.  Healthy People 2030 focuses on preventing, diagnosing, and treating these disorders in people of all ages.

Sensory or communication disorders can have a major impact on social, emotional, and physical well-being. Some groups have a higher risk of these disorders, including people with low incomes, people who work in certain industries, and older adults. People who are diagnosed or treated later often have worse outcomes.

Preventive care like hearing screenings for newborns and comprehensive eye exams in adults are critical for finding and treating these disorders early. And strategies to increase use of eye and hearing protection can help prevent new cases.

Objective Status

  • 1 Target met or exceeded
  • 0 Improving
  • 3 Little or no detectable change
  • 1 Getting worse
  • 17 Baseline only
  • 2 Developmental
  • 3 Research

Learn more about objective types

Related Objectives

The following is a sample of objectives related to this topic. Some objectives may include population data.

Sensory or Communication Disorders — General

Reduce ear infections in children — HOSCD‑04
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults who use hearing protection devices around loud sounds — HOSCD‑08
Baseline only
Reduce the proportion of adults who have hearing loss due to noise exposure — HOSCD‑09
Baseline only
Reduce vision loss from diabetic retinopathy — V‑04
Baseline only
Reduce vision loss from glaucoma — V‑05
Baseline only
Reduce vision loss from cataract — V‑06
Baseline only
Reduce vision loss from age-related macular degeneration — V‑07
Baseline only
Reduce vision loss from refractive errors — V‑D01
Developmental
Understand factors that impact use of protective eyewear in occupational and recreational settings — V‑R02
Research
Understand the impacts of screen time on eye development and vision loss — V‑R03
Research
Increase the proportion of infants who didn’t pass their hearing screening who get evaluated for hearing loss by age 3 months — HOSCD‑02
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of infants with hearing loss who get intervention services by age 6 months — HOSCD‑03
Little or no detectable change
Reduce new cases of work-related hearing loss — OSH‑06
Target met or exceeded

Adolescents

Reduce vision loss in children and adolescents — V‑03
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents with communication disorders who have seen a specialist in the past year — HOSCD‑05
Baseline only

Health Care

Increase the proportion of adults with tinnitus that started in the past 5 years who have seen a specialist — HOSCD‑10
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults with dizziness or balance problems who have been referred to a specialist — HOSCD‑11
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults with smell or taste disorders who discuss the problem with a provider — HOSCD‑12
Baseline only
Increase access to vision services in community health centers — V‑R01
Research

People with Disabilities

Increase the proportion of adults with hearing loss who use a hearing aid — HOSCD‑07
Baseline only
Increase the use of vision rehab services by people with vision loss — V‑08
Baseline only
Increase the use of assistive and adaptive devices by people with vision loss — V‑09
Baseline only

Preventive Care

Increase the proportion of newborns who get screened for hearing loss by age 1 month — HOSCD‑01
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of adults who have had a hearing exam in the past 5 years — HOSCD‑06
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of children aged 3 to 5 years who get vision screening — V‑01
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults who have had a comprehensive eye exam in the last 2 years — V‑02
Baseline only

Public Health Infrastructure

Increase the number of states and DC that track eye health and access to eye care — V‑D02
Developmental

Other topics you may be interested in