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By Diane Griffith, Staff Writer
If you like to blast your iPod during your morning run, crank up the Walkman while you ride the bus or go to rock concerts without wearing earplugs, you may regret your choices in decades to come.
If you've left a concert or night club with muffled hearing or with buzzing or ringing in your ears, then you've already experienced noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Though temporary, such episodes of NIHL over time can result in permanent hearing loss in the future.
Continuous exposure to loud noises gradually increases the symptoms of NIHL. Sounds may become distorted and muffled and you may have a hard time understanding the speech of others. Because the loss is gradual, you may not even be aware of it.
Most young people aren't concerned about hearing loss because its effects may not be evident for years and they don't fully understand the impact that future hearing loss will have on their lives.
Wearing earplugs when listening to loud music is one way to decrease your chance of hearing loss. Most young people may be persuaded to wear earplugs if:
- They knew loud noises like rock music could cause permanent hearing loss. (They do.)
- They knew earplugs wouldn't decrease their enjoyment of the music. (They won't.)
- Their doctors recommended them. (They do.)
More than 30 million Americans are exposed on a daily basis to hazardous sound levels. Vacuums, lawnmowers, leaf blowers, alarm clocks and garbage disposals all create harmful noises. NIHL can be caused by repeated exposure, over time, to various noise levels, or it can be brought on by an individual exposure to a loud sound.
Sound levels are measured in decibels. Decibel levels under 80 are not harmful to your hearing. Continued exposure to decibel levels in excess of 85, over time, will cause hearing loss. A humming refrigerator emits about 40 decibels, a normal conversation about 60, and city traffic can be 85 decibels. A blaring MP3 player can emit 112 decibels and the noise level at a rock concert can be in the 120 decibel region.
Sudden or continuous noise can cause temporary hearing loss, and may be accompanied by ringing, buzzing or roaring in the ears or head. Such hearing loss and tinnitus can occur in one or both ears and may continue constantly or return occasionally throughout a person's life.
If you are exposed to high noise levels on a regular basis, the use of earplugs can prevent NIHL. Since such a large percentage of young people don't know about NIHL, the best thing you can do for your friends and loved ones is to spread the word ... and the earplugs.
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