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Learn about the main causes of hearing loss and what you can do about it. Then see how to keep your ears safe and sound.
SOUND
check!
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ABOUT IT.
Hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic health condition in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fortunately, with proper precautions, most hearing loss can be prevented.
Each person has thousands of hair cells in the inner ear covered by swaying cilia that sense sound vibrations and initiate the hearing process. Loud noises, age and disease can cause damage to the hair cells, affecting hearing. When enough of these hairs are damaged beyond repair, they die and they can’t grow back, resulting in hearing loss that is generally permanent.
Exposure to loud noise can overwork these hair cells, causing them to die. Even a single exposure to extremely loud sounds can cause damage.
Age-related hearing loss can be due to inherited factors, health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, side effects from medications or continuous exposure to loud noises.
Signs of hearing loss include difficulty making out high-pitched sounds and trouble following a conversation when the surroundings are noisy. The speech of others may sound mumbled or slurred, while some sounds seem overly loud and annoying.
approximately
15%
of americans age 18 and over report some trouble hearing.
Age is the strongest predictor of hearing loss, according to the National Institutes of Health, and men are almost twice as likely as women to develop hearing loss.
too
Learn about noise levels to keep yourself safe at home and in public.
Sound is measured in decibels (dB) on a scale that ranges from low/quiet to high/loud. It’s not always easy to tell when noise poses a threat to hearing, but it pays to avoid continued or repeated exposure to anything above 85 dB (see examples below). Sound levels are too loud when you:
• can’t hear what others are saying
• experience ear pain
• have ringing in your ears or muffled
hearing afterwards
Even ordinary things can cause dangerous exposure to noise.
HEADPHONES
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly 50% of people ages 12 to 35 in the developed world are exposed to unsafe sound levels from audio devices, which have an output range of 75 dB to 136 dB.
NIGHTCLUBS
Sound levels in bars and dance clubs average 104 dB to 112 dB. Fifteen minutes of listening to music at 100 dB is equal to a factory worker’s 8-hour day at 85 dB.
SPORTING EVENTS
Crowd noise in pro sports stadiums ranges from 80 dB to 117 dB. Even short exposure to high-decibel levels can be harmful, so wear hearing protection. See more decibel levels in the chart to the right.
NOISE LEVELS
30 dB
WHISPERING: No limit
60 dB
CONVERSATION: No limit
70–85 dB
BUSY TRAFFIC: 8 hours at 85 dB
90 dB
LAWNMOWER: 2½ hours
100 dB
HAIR DRYER: 15 Mintues
110 dB
CHAINSAW: 30 Seconds
130 dB
JET TAKEOFF: <1 Second
LOUD
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