Mohr, P. et al. (2000). The societal costs of severe to profound hearing loss in the United States.

Mohr, P. E., Feldman, J. J., Dunbar, J. L., McConkey-Robbins, A., Niparko, J. K., Rittenhouse, R. K., & Skinner, M. W. (2000). The societal costs of severe to profound hearing loss in the United States. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 16(4), 1120-1135.

Objective: Severe to profound hearing impairment affects one-half to three-quarters of a million Americans. To function in a hearing society, hearing-impaired persons require specialized educational, social services, and other resources. The primary purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive, national, and recent estimate of the economic burden of hearing impairment.
Methods: The researchers constructed a cohort-survival model to estimate the lifetime costs of hearing impairment. Data for the model were derived principally from the analyses of secondary data sources including the National Health Interview Survey Hearing Loss and Disability Supplements, the Department of Education's National Longitudinal Transition Study, and Gallaudet University's Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth. These analyses were supplemented by a review of the literature and consultation with a four-member expert panel.
Results: Severe to profound hearing loss is expected to cost society $297,000 over the lifetime of an individual. Most of these losses are due to reduced work productivity, although the use of special education resources among children contributes an additional 21%. Lifetime costs for those with prelingual onset exceed $1 million.
Conclusions: Results indicate that an additional $4.6 billion will be spent over the lifetime of persons who acquired their impairment in 1998. The particularly high costs associated with prelingual onset of severe to profound hearing impairment suggest interventions aimed at children, such as early identification and/or aggressive medical intervention, may have a substantial payback.

Honeycutt, A. et al. (2004). Economic costs associated with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, and vision impairment.

Honeycutt, A., Dunlap, L., Chen, H., Homsi, G., Grosse, S., & Schendel, D. (2004). Economic costs associated with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, and vision impairment. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Retrieved April 27, 2006, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5303a4.htm

Developmental disabilities (DDs) are chronic conditions that initially manifest in persons aged less than 18 years and result in impairment of physical health, mental health, cognition, speech, language, or self-care. The majority of persons with DDs require long-term supportive care or services. In 2003, RTI International (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) analyzed data from multiple surveys and reports to estimate the direct and indirect economic costs associated with four DDs in the United States. On the basis of that analysis, estimated lifetime costs are expected to total $51.2 billion for persons born in 2000 with mental retardation, $11.5 billion for persons with cerebral palsy, $2.1 billion for persons with hearing loss, and $2.5 billion for persons with vision impairment. These estimates underscore the need for effective primary and secondary prevention measures (e.g., newborn screening for hearing and metabolic disorders and smoking-cessation counseling for pregnant women) to reduce the costs associated with DDs.