Noise is a source of hearing loss that impacts several people worldwide. Protective measures can help prevent noise-induced hearing impairment can help you maintain your optimal hearing capacity.
Hearing loss resulting from noise can occur gradually over a period of time. Even though our hearing tends to decline with age, continued exposure to loud noises can contribute to sensorineural hearing loss due to the damage to tiny hairs in the cochlea. People who work in noisy environments with no protective gear have an increased risk of this particular hearing loss. The World Health Organization recently reported that 1.1 billion young adults have an increased risk of hearing loss due to the high use of headphones to listen to loud music for a large amount of time.
Apart from extended exposure to loud noises, sudden outbursts of extremely loud sounds can also lead to hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is known as acoustic trauma, and can result from exposure to sudden loud noises such as explosions, gunshots, etc. This type of damage is difficult to protect against since these types of noises happen suddenly and do not provide sufficient opportunity to implement protective methods.
Hearing loss resulting from loud noises can be irreversible. Prolonged exposure to noises over 85dB can cause severe hearing impairment over a period of time. You can reduce the chances of noises causes hearing loss by wearing protective gear such as earplugs, earmuffs, or noise-cancelling headphones. Earmuffs protect your ears against high frequency sounds (such as the sounds made during the take-off or landing of an airplane) whereas earplugs can protect you from the low frequency sounds (such as the constant thrumming of the baseline music at a bar or concert).
You can also protect your ears using practical methods such as reducing the volume on your television or electronic device when listening to music or watching movies. Generally speaking, if you are unable to talk to someone sitting 2mtrs away from you without raising your voice, it is prudent to turn the volume down. Small, precautionary steps today can save you a world of hassle and costs tomorrow.