Average American asks ‘What did you say?’ over 1,000 times a year

The average American will ask, “What did you say?” or an equivalent 1,095 times in a year, according to new research.

The survey of 2,000 general population Americans revealed respondents will need to ask someone to repeat themselves an average of three times per day because they didn’t hear the first time.

This adds up to about 91 times per month, or over one thousand times per year.

But despite the difficulty in hearing what others said, the average respondent will only ask twice before giving up on understanding and just pretending to have heard.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Audien Hearing, the survey looked at the social impact this can have on respondents.

The results revealed that 35% of respondents have felt left out of a conversation because they couldn’t hear well, and while the outcomes of mishearing others can be funny, they can also be awkward and embarrassing — or even painful.

When asked for anecdotes of times they’ve misheard others, one respondent shared, “Down in Texas, my girlfriend was trying to tell me there was a loose horse and I didn't hear, and a horse ran right by me and knocked me down.”

Another respondent shared a time when their spouse caught them signing the lyrics wrong to a song: “The music aficionado in him required that I be corrected but the husband of 40+ years also knew gentleness and tact were required.”

A third said, “I had no idea what they said but I agreed and said yes. And before you knew I had to speak in front of a crowd.”

Perhaps because of the consequences of mishearing, almost a fifth of Americans surveyed (17%) admit they’ve avoided a social situation because of hearing difficulties. And this was higher for young Americans: 23% of Gen Z have done this, compared to just 11% of baby boomers surveyed.

“Whether you have hearing loss or not, nobody likes to ask someone to repeat themselves,” said Ishan Patel, the CEO at Audien Hearing. “But even for those who do have hearing loss, not everyone is ready to pull the trigger on hearing aids, so it’s very common for people to tune out of conversations when they can’t hear. That’s why we should recognize this and take corrective action when needed.”

The survey did ask respondents if they’ve been medically diagnosed with a hearing issue, and 16% of respondents have been — but another 21% worry they might have an undiagnosed hearing issue.

Regardless of whether they do or not, 40% of respondents believe their hearing has deteriorated over the past five years. For those respondents, they attribute this deterioration to age (62%) and exposure to loud noises in everyday life (32%).

Additionally, they believe some of their personal habits are playing a role — specifically, playing loud music in their car (32%), playing audio at a high volume using headphones (27%) and attending loud concerts (22%).

But while respondents are worried about their hearing, only half (49%) feel informed about the solutions for hearing issues.

They also shared barriers to seeking care for hearing-related issues, either now or in the future. This included the monetary cost of solutions (33%), their lack of knowledge about hearing loss (18%) and feeling embarrassed (15%).

And that feeling of embarrassment may be stopping respondents from getting hearing aids. Of the 93% who do not currently have hearing aids, 32% said they wouldn’t consider it, even if it was recommended by a medical professional.

“We always recommend seeking a medical opinion if you have hearing loss, but it’s important to know that your options have improved significantly in recent years,” said Patel. “Hearing aids used to cost nearly $5,000 per pair, required a prescription, and were bulky and unattractive.

“Now, due to technological advancements and new FDA guidelines, there are options for hearing aids over the counter for a fraction of the price, and many are much smaller and more discreet.”

* Free text responses may have been edited for length and/or clarity

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by Audien Hearing and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Aug. 13–16, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.