Our world can be noisy and every day we are exposed to harmful levels of noise that can damage our ears. From power tools to alarms, traffic and music, these noises are a normal part of life. However, did you know that there are simple steps you can take today to protect your hearing for years to come?
October is National Protect Your Hearing Month, so we spoke with Dr Karen Pakan audiologist with Woodland Health Dignity Clinicwhich shares important information about noise-induced hearing loss.
How do I know if my hearing is damaged?
Have you ever left a concert and heard ringing in your ears? Do you find yourself turning up the volume or moving closer just to hear and understand your friend speaking?
Hearing loss affects approximately 48 million Americansand although it may be more common in aging adults, people of all ages experience hearing loss.
When you are exposed to loud noises, such as at a concert or sporting event, you may find that when you leave you experience ringing in your ears and reduced hearing. If it goes away after a few hours or days, you have just experienced a temporary threshold shift (TTS) or temporary hearing loss. Repeated TTS can lead to permanent threshold shift (PTS), which is a permanent loss of your hearing.
Each person has a different TTS and PTS range when exposed to dangerous sound levels. Once damage is done to your hearing, it is impossible to repair it.
How do I know if I am in a place that could damage my hearing?
Most people do not have access to a sound level meter to measure the noise level in their environment. A quick way to assess whether the environment is too noisy is to use your arms. If you are within an arm’s length (about 3 feet) of someone and they have to raise their voice for you to hear them, that environment may have a dangerous level of noise. However, this doesn’t mean you have to leave immediately. OSHA says you may be able to stay in this environment for about 8 hours. before you start to experience hearing loss. The noisier the environment, the less time you have before experiencing possible hearing loss.
What are some simple steps I can take to protect my hearing?
Your ears should last your entire life. I recommend that everyone use hearing protection around loud sounds and avoid prolonged exposure to these sounds. Below are some additional tips to help you in different contexts:
- When you attend a concert, consider using hearing protection designed for listening to music. If you are a music enthusiast, you can consult an audiologist to get custom earplugs made with special filters so that they fit properly and do not compromise the quality or sound of the music. You can also find over-the-counter musician earplugs with filters if you’re on a budget.
- When listening to music/podcasts with headphones, you ask, can I turn down the volume? It’s also important to use well-fitted headphones that reduce competing or environmental noises that might make you want to turn up the volume. This may be easier to achieve with over-ear headphones than in-ear headphones, as they tend to fit most people better. Some headphones and mobile devices may have settings that allow you to limit sound levels. If so, this should be set to 85 dB or less.
- If you use power toolsuse hearing protection consistently and appropriately.
Key takeaways
You can lose hearing at any age and hearing loss is permanent. If you want to benefit from your hearing for a long time, protect it whenever you are near loud sounds, even if it is only for a short time.
You can still go to concerts and listen to your favorite artists, mow your lawn, and watch fireworks. There are many ways to protect your hearing, including lowering the volume, taking breaks to avoid noise, or using hearing protection.
If you would like to have your hearing checked, you can make an appointment with an audiologist. OUR « Find a doctor» can help you find a Dignity Health Medical Group provider near you.
