subject: Can Noise Trigger Hearing Loss? [print this page] No matter where the wind takes her, she is always noticing people who have their own portable music players and ear buds. This senior at Chicago University mentions the popularity of these devices sharing how she uses her own iPod when studying or exercising.
It is also common for people their age to damage their sense of hearing unknowingly. There is nothing but fear associated by researchers to the continuous growth in popularity of portable music players and similar devices connected to the ears.
From an Indiana university is a director of clinical education in audiology who says that the growing usage for such devices has increased rapidly as compared to the past. You could say that listening has become more of a full time activity.
In his opinion, senior citizen ears could now be seen in the youth. He and colleagues have been randomly examining students and found a disturbing and growing incidence of what is known as noise induced hearing loss.
For someone who is not able to respond well to higher frequency sounds, there is the problem of not being able to follow a conversation if a place is noisy as well as the consistent experience of mild ringing in the ears.
Hearing specialists say they're also seeing more people in their 30s and 40s who suffer from more pronounced tinnitus, an internal ringing or even the sound of whooshing or buzzing in the ears.
Considering what is currently happening as the tip of the iceberg, the director of a hearing center at a children's hospital based in Houston shares his opinion. More cases would not be that alarming according to him.
The most common causes of noise induced hearing loss includes firearm use, power tool use, exposure to noisy concerts, as well as going to loud clubs.
Other than listening to music, doctors say that most people also use headphones today to avoid any ambient sounds from the streets and public transportation. No one thing can not lead to hearing loss.
It is somewhat difficult to get warned about future hearing loss. According to a Minnesota otologist, multiple exposures and a prolonged period of time may pass before you even find out. If you come from a noisy venue and your ears are ringing then there is some form of damage to them.
An important aspect for the partial recovery of hearing is resting, as doctors say. The hairs in the inner ear are associated with having good hearing skills and these can be damaged with continued exposure.
It has been said by an audiologist who works with children and hearing in a Northern Colorado university that people are listening to these portable devices longer because of the availability of rechargeable batteries. Volume levels can reach the roof and this causes even more problems for the ears.
Publishing a survey in the summer, the national acoustic laboratories were able to discover how 25 percent of people who make use of portable music players are exposing themselves to ear damaging noise levels. Between 18 and 24 is the usual age of people who usually exceed the safe limits when it comes to volume levels, according to research findings from Britain's royal national institute for deaf people.
How do you know when it's too much? In line with the studies done by researchers working for a children's hospital in Boston, safe usage depends on one hour per day of listening to these portable music players at 60 percent of its maximum volume.
Ear protection can be worn in the workplace or when engaging in recreational activities as experts say but one can easily protect the ears by staying away from loud speakers.
