According to the CDC, an estimated 12.5% of children and adolescents aged 6-19 years (approximately 5.2 million) and 17% of adults aged 20-69 years (approximately 26 million) have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive exposure to noise.
Many different activities can cause hearing loss, including work, listening to music with the volume too high, attending concerts or festivals, being close to loud bursts of sounds such as gunshots, and others.
To ensure your ears are safe and avoid damage during exposure to loud noise, you need to wear ear protection. This is why:
1. Hearing Is Fragile
As mind-blowing as our hearing system is, it is quite easy to damage. Every time you expose your ears to a sound louder than 80dB(A), you are risking your hearing health. Not just long exposure to noise can hurt your ears, though: short, but loud noises can also lead to damage.
As you age, the inner hair cells inside the cochlea responsible for transmitting sound to your brain begin to deteriorate, causing what is known as age-related hearing loss (or presbycusis). If you suffer from noise-induced hearing loss at a younger age, however, the condition will progress further as you get older and may cause you to struggle to hear anything at all. This can result in difficulties with communication, social isolation, and even cognitive issues.
2. You Can’t Reverse Hearing Loss
Normally, people are born with about 16,000 inner hair cells. Did you know that up to 30%-50% of them can be destroyed before you notice any changes in your hearing that a hearing test can measure?
You’ve probably noticed that after exposure to loud noise (e.g., when you’ve just left a football game), your hearing is not as good as it usually is. Within a few hours to a few days, however, it returns to normal. This happens because the hair cells inside your cochlea bend as a result of the loud noise (similarly to blades of grass), but then become straight again after a recovery period.
Sometimes, however, in case the noise has damaged too many of them, some of the hair cells die. Once they have been destroyed, they can’t be repaired or replaced. This is the reason why permanent hearing loss is irreversible.
3. Exposure to Loud Noise Can Cause Tinnitus
Not only can exposure to loud noise cause hearing loss, but it can also cause tinnitus: a constant buzzing, ringing, whooshing, or hissing sound that can be constant or occur sporadically. Tinnitus can be annoying and even upsetting, and it can have a serious adverse effect on your mental health and quality of life.
Tinnitus caused by loud noise normally disappears within a few hours to a few days, but it sometimes becomes permanent. Whilst there are treatments that can help relieve its symptoms, tinnitus is, unfortunately, still untreatable.
4. Noise Can Be Damaging to the Auditory Nerve
When the hair cells in the cochlea are destroyed, over time this can cause damage to the auditory nerve that transmits sound signals from the inner ear to the brain. This leads to a decline in its function and further hearing difficulties.
In addition to physical damage, exposure to loud noise can interfere with the electrical activity of the auditory nerve fibers, resulting in changes in the way the brain processes sounds. This can cause great difficulty with understanding speech, especially in noisy environments.
Preventing Noise-Induced Hearing Issues
Ear protection reduces the amount of noise that enters the ear, effectively preventing noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus. It comes in many forms, including earmuffs, earplugs, and other devices designed to reduce noise.
Using ear protection is vital for people who are frequently exposed to loud noise environments, e.g., workers in construction, military, or manufacturing, as well as musicians, shooters, or those who often attend concerts. Protecting your ears during such activities reduces the risk of damage and allows you to enjoy healthy hearing for years to come.
Hearing Aid Accessory offer a robust range of high-quality ear protection and CENS products from top brands. Not only are our hearing protection solutions durable and hypoallergenic, but they also support natural hearing, situational awareness, and communication, allowing you to enjoy your favorite activities while keeping your ears safe. Click the button below to browse our range!
