According to U.S. Census information, one tenth of Americans suffers from some sort of hearing loss or impairment, with around 30.6 million Americans suffering from hearing impairment in general; out of this population are "approximately 18 million of these persons are of working age (16 to 24 years old)" (Watson et al., 2008, p 13). This means that there is a huge and increasingly growing population that can benefit from VR services across the nation. Over 63% of those affected by hearing loss or impairment are employed (Watson et al., 2008). This is a promising number, yet at the same time "80.5% of all persons ages 21-64 without a disability are employed" (Watson et al., 2008, p 13). VR programs around the country are aiming to make this number more equal through proper training and counseling services to help hearing impaired and deaf individuals find employment that increases their overall quality of life. Moreover, "it is clear that many persons (i.e., 40,000 to 50,000 each year) do receive significant services from VR on an annual basis" (Watson et al., 2008, p 21). Even states as far away as Hawaii have seen recent increases of individuals working with VR strategies and programs. The research shows that in Arkansas, there are actually more clients than in Tennessee, at an average of around 38,000 hearing impaired individuals working with the VR program, alone (Watson et al., 2008). Overall, there are more and more new cases of clients working with VR services, both in Tennessee and the rest of the nation. The research suggests that "hearing loss is becoming more prevalent among the general population" with evidence that shows that "prevalence rates for hearing problems across all ages have increased steadily from 71.6 to 82.9 per 1,000 of the general population" (Watson et al., 2008, p 13). As more and more of the population find themselves with hearing impairment and loss issues, it is important for state VR programs to be able to accommodate their unique needs within a variety of professional contexts. The younger demographics, under the age of 18, are the populations which hearing impairment...

This means that in the near future, as the younger generations continue to grow, so will the caseloads within VR services all over the nation. Having so many young, working age individuals suffering from the affects of hearing loss will been further influxes in a vulnerable population that will need the services of VR programs.
There are rising numbers of VR cases, both in Tennessee and in the rest of the nation. This is to be expected with general increases in the number of Americans suffering from both hearing impairment and hearing loss. Such individuals, especially in the younger demographics, need help and assistance from VR programs to land good employment opportunities that will allow them to lead the quality of life that is similar to individuals without such disabilities.