Deafness

Here you'll find our current definition of the critical illness, additional condition or child specific condition we cover. We've also listed any previous definitions we may have had. With each new definition we've highlighted what's changed from the previous definition.

Current definition

March 2022

Deafness – permanent and irreversible

Permanent and irreversible loss of hearing to the extent that the loss is greater than 70 decibels across all frequencies in the better ear using a pure tone audiogram.

Change from the previous definition

We've updated the permanent and irreversible loss of hearing to the extent that the loss is greater than 95 decibels to 70 decibels.

Previous definitions

Deafness – permanent and irreversible

Permanent and irreversible loss of hearing to the extent that the loss is greater than 95 decibels across all frequencies in the better ear using a pure tone audiogram.