subject: Tinnitus From Acoustic Trauma [print this page] If you are suffering tinnitus, the odds are that noise or loud sound damage lies behind your symptoms, and as occurrences of tinnitus rise, it is evident that those odds will also continue to rise. The explanation is not hard to figure out. Our culture filled with industry and technology is also filled with a lot of loud noise, yet few seem aware of the hazards of hearing damage or tinnitus.
Noise-induced damage to the ears can occur suddenly or gradually. First, a single, sudden exposure to extremely loud noise, such as what is produced by an explosion or gunfire at close range, can destroy tiny hair cells, called stereocilia, inside the cochlea of the inner ear, and that can cause hearing distortions and hearing loss, and engender ear tinnitus symptoms.
In the other case, exposure to loud noise over protracted periods, as one would receive at a machine shop or listening to high volume music, also ruins the tiny hair receptors of the inner ear, resulting in hearing loss and tinnitus that progressively worsens. With prolonged exposure, in the absence of protection, the onset of ear tinnitus is gradual and intermittent in the beginning. By way of illustration, when one comes out of a loud night club, one's hearing may seem dull, accompanied by mild tinnitus for a short time. With repeated exposures to loud sound, the intermittent pattern may continue for months or even years, while the tinnitus gradually becomes more noticeable and longer lasting. Eventually, the ear ringing becomes constant, and further exposures to loud sounds aggravate the tinnitus until the ear ringing begins to interfere with daily living, often exceeding one's ability to cope.
Sadly enough, noise trauma can do permanent damage to the stereocilia, the hair receptor cells that convert sound waves into electrical energy that is then transmitted to the brain via nerves. Scientists are now studying to see if the hair cells can be regrown, but for the moment it cannot be done. When the hearing receptor cells are ruined, the loss is irreversible. After the hair cells are killed by long subjection to loud noise, one becomes deaf to certain sound pitch levels. In that event, tinnitus may be the consequence of invalid nerve impulses at certain pitches of sound, but no one knows exactly how that operates.
Now that iPods and similar sound players have come on the scene, with ear buds that are worn right in the hearing pocket, delivering very loud sound, the leading cause of tinnitus is starting to get some media attention. When played at moderate volume levels, iPods with ear buds can safely provide a very satisfying listening experience. However, listening at excessive volume levels can do real damage. Not only is it possible to subject oneself to dangerous sound strength for long periods but, because of the way the ear buds sit in the concha, the sound is directly funneled to the ear drum for maximum impact, in this case for doing damage that is often irreparable.
It should be added here that the stereocilia of the cochlea also tend to degenerate with aging, a condition called presbycusis. Acoustic trauma sustained when one is younger, then, can make tinnitus all the much worse when one becomes older. For what it is worth, let this be a word to the wise: Take care of your hearing in the days of your youth. Nearly all noise damage to the inner ear is preventable by staying away from sources of loud sound or noise, listening to music at moderate volume levels, and by protecting your hearing with ear plugs or ear muffs if you must be around sources of loud sound.
