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Hearing is a very important part of your day to day life. Hearing enhances almost every facet of your life. It enables you to communicate, learn, and follow instructions.
Hearing provides you enjoyment when listening to television, movies, radio, and concerts. But when you are exposed to harmful sounds--sounds that are too loud or loud sounds over a long time--sensitive structures of your inner ear can be damaged, causing noise-induced hearing loss. Some hearing loss may be temporary, but if exposure continues it could be permanent.
Noise-induced hearing-loss is 100% preventable. However, once acquired, hearing loss is permanent and irreversible.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders:
- 28 million Americans suffer some degree of hearing loss. One-third can attribute their hearing loss to noise exposure.
- Noise induced hearing loss is the second most self-reported occupational illness or injury.
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Hearing is a series of events in which the ear converts sound waves into electrical signals that are sent to the brain and interpreted as sound.
Exposure to harmful sounds causes damage to the sensitive hair cells of the inner ear as well as the hearing nerve. Once these structures are damaged noise induced hearing loss occurs and cannot be reversed. Two kinds of noise can injure these structures and lead to noise induced hearing loss:
- Loud impulse noise - hearing a gunshot at close range.
- Loud continuous noise - repeated exposure to loud sounds over the 85-90-decibel level, for extended periods of time. (for example, listening to loud music in headphones, or working around noisy equipment like jackhammers).
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- Ringing or buzzing in the ears.
- Difficulty in understanding speech.
- Slight muffling of sounds.
- Difficulty understanding speech in noisy places or places with poor acoustics.
Once you have symptoms permanent damage may have already occurred.
If you are having symptoms of hearing loss, have your hearing tested by a licensed audiologist, or have your ears examined by an ear doctor.
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- Pay attention to the noises around you and turn down the volume whenever possible.
- Use headphones that contain acoustical limiting devices. Headsets that use acoustical limiting devices are designed to provide sufficient protection to keep the noise level below the level that causes ear damage.
- Avoid the continuous use of portable stereos in noisy conditions. (Wearers tend to turn up their personal stereos too high, to overcome the noisy environment and cause hearing damage).
- Avoid or limit time spent in noisy sports events, rock concerts and night clubs.
- Wear adequate hearing protection, such as foam ear plugs or ear muffs, when you must be in a noisy environment or when using loud equipment.
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If you have to shout when you talk to a coworker who is standing next to you, the noise level at your workplace may be hurting your ears.
Sound is measured in decibels. Eight hours of hearing noise at 85 decibels could hurt your hearing. At higher sound levels, you could lose hearing in even less time.
Workplaces where sound levels are an average of 85 decibels or higher for more than eight hours must have programs to save the hearing of workers. These workplaces must give free hearing protection devices to workers.
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Youth Occupations, (dB) decibels and Activity:
- phone operator 60dB everyday conversation, ringing telephone
- waitress, waiter, dishwasher 70dB restaurant atmosphere
- clean-up jobs 80dB heavy city traffic, alarm clock at 2 feet, factory noise, vacuum cleaner, garbage disposal
Experts agree that continued noise exposure above this level (85 dBA) over time, will eventually harm hearing. In general the louder the sound, the less time required before hearing will be affected.
- lawn-care worker 90dB subway trains, motorcycle, workshop tools, lawn mower
- record/music store worker; auto body mechanic; construction/carpenter; copy center worker; ushers at operas or musicals 100dB working near a chain saw, pneumatic drill, loud music in headphones
- manufacturing employee; snowmobile operator; video arcade worker; agricultural worker; amusement park worker 110dB farm machinery, other machinery certain children's toys, dance club
- disc jockey 120dB rock concert speaker sound, sandblasting, thunderclap
- 130dB jet during take off, gunfire
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