Protect Your Hearing

In the United States, 36 million people have hearing loss.  One in three of those people developed hearing loss as a result of exposure to noise.  Hearing loss due to noise exposure is 100% preventable.

How loud is too loud?

Noise is measured in decibels, or dB for short.  The higher the decibel level, the louder the noise.  Sounds that are louder than 85 dB can cause permanent changes in your hearing. 

How can I tell if noise is too loud?

Your environment is too loud if you have to raise your voice to be heard or if you  can’t clearly hear someone three feet away.  Pay attention to how you feel after leaving a noisy area.  If speech sounds are muffled or if you have pain or ringing (called “tinnitus”) in your ears,  the environment was too loud.

How does loud noise damage hearing?

Inside your ear, there is a snail-shaped bone called the cochlea.  The cochlea is filled with thousands of tiny hair cells.  Sounds travel from these hair cells to the auditory nerve and then to your brain.  The hair cells are very sensitive, and can be damaged by loud noise.  Damage to these hair cells is most often permanent.

How else can loud noise be harmful?

Hearing isn’t the only thing that can be affected by loud noise.  Research has shown that exposure to loud noise can cause fatigue, irritability, inattention, high blood pressure and insomnia, in addition to hearing changes.

How can I protect my hearing?

It’s important to protect your ears from loud noises–once the hair cells are damaged, they don’t grow back.  Noise induced hearing loss often comes on gradually, and is painless, but permanent.

Here are some things you can do to protect your hearing:

• Be aware of the noise levels in your environment at home, at work or school, and at play.   People of all ages can be exposed to harmful levels of noise–infants, children, young adults and older adults.
• Wear hearing protection.  Cotton in your ears will not help!  There are many different ways to protect your ears.  Earplugs fit inside your ear canals, and earmuffs fit over the ears.  These items can be purchased from drugstores, hardware stores, or sporting goods stores.   An audiologist can fit you with custom hearing protection.
• Don’t listen to loud sounds for too long, and lower the volume of what you are listening to.  This includes personal listening devices such as MP3 players.
• Get your hearing checked!  Anyone exposed to hazardous noise should have their hearing examined once a year.