Hearing loss from noise exposure

Some of the warning signs

A noise-induced hearing loss

Hearing loss from iPods 

Musicians

Custom-fit hearing protection

Custom Ear Monitors

Swimplugs

 

 

Hearing loss from noise exposure

Noise is one of the most common causes of hearing loss and one of the most common occupational illnesses in the United States. A single shot from a shotgun, experienced at close range, may permanently damage your hearing in an instant. Repeated exposures to loud machinery may, over an extended period of time, present serious risks to your hearing.

Did you know that:

• 10 million Americans have irreversible hearing damage from noise?

• 30 million are exposed to dangerous noise levels each day?

• The effects of noise on hearing are often underestimated because the damage takes place so gradually?

• Excessive noise damages the delicate hair cells in the inner ear. This damage results in sensorineural hearing loss and often tinnitus (ringing of the ears).

• Dangerous levels of noise can come from working in noisy occupations or in engaging in dangerous recreational activities:

Dangerous recreational activities: video arcades, fire crackers, discos, music concerts, shooting a gun, movie theaters, sporting events, motor boards, motorcycles, snowmobiles and "boom cars."

Occupations particularly under risk for hearing loss due to exposure to noise: firefighters, police officers, factory workers, farmers, construction workers, military personnel, heavy industry workers, musicians and entertainment industry professionals.

If you have to raise your voice to shout over the noise to be heard by someone an arm's length away, the noise is probably in the dangerous range.

 

Some of the warning signs of the presence of or exposure to hazardous noise are:

• You can't hear someone 3 feet away

• You have pain in your ears after leaving a noisy area

• You hear ringing or buzzing (tinnitus) in your ears immediately after exposure to noise

• You suddenly have difficulty understanding speech after exposure to noise; you can hear people talking but you cannot understand them.

• Information kindly provided by the Better Hearing Institute

 

A noise-induced hearing loss cannot be medically treated nor can it be reversed, but it can be prevented.

If you can't avoid hazardous noise levels, hearing protection is mandatory. Properly fit hearing protection, whether non-custom or custom, acts as a barrier between the noise and the inner ear, protecting the ear from intense noise levels and additional hearing loss.

Each type of hearing protector comes with a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), which gives you the approximate amount of noise that will be reduced. In addition, the better the fit of the protector, the more the noise is reduced.

Franklin Hearing Center can help you to select the type of protector that is most appropriate for the noise to which you are being exposed. 

 

Hearing loss from iPods 

Apple has released a software upgrade for the iPod that allows users or parents to easily set a maximum volume limit. The settings can then be locked with a code.

This software is immediately available as a free download from http://www.apple.com/ipod/download/

Apple has also launched a website on how to listen safely with the iPod at http://www.apple.com/sound/

Experts have recommended that iPod use be limited to a maximum of 60 percent volume for no longer than 60 minutes per day. The 60/60 rule, as proposed by Dr. Brian Fligor, an audiologist from Boston Children's Hospital, underscores the need to limit not just the volume level, but the length of sound exposure as well.

 

Musicians

Did you know that a piccolo generates sound levels up to 112dB - roughly the equivalent to a jackhammer at 30 feet? Yes, music can cause hearing loss if it is listened to at ear shattering levels. 

 

Custom-fit hearing protection

Custom hearing protection has been developed by Etymotic Research especially for musicians. This type of protector features unique high fidelity filters which attenuate sound equally across all frequencies. This musician will hear the music accurately but at safer levels. 

You can choose a solid adaptor or from the following filters:

ER9 Provides 9dB of attenuation through 2000 Hz
ER-15 Provides 15dB of flat attention
ER-25 Provides an average of 20dB attenuation

 

Custom Ear Monitors

Many musicians are discovering the comfort and sound quality that can be provided by custom ear monitors, which can eliminate feedback, cut on-stage noise levels, reduce vocal fatigue, and allow them to hear their performance more clearly than ever.

Most importantly, they protect and preserve hearing.

Custom ear impressions are taken and then sent to a precision earmold lab which then makes the devices to meet your specific needs. 

 

Swimplugs

Swimplugs are custom made from soft silicone material and are designed to prevent water from entering the ear canal.  Swimplugs are most often used by people with ear conditions that should not be exposed to water, such as perforated eardrums, chronic external otitis, and those who have had ventilating tubes surgically placed in the eardrum. 

Swimplugs should be used only to prevent water from splashing into the ears while bathing, washing hair, or wading in a swimming pool.  They are not intended for swimming under water or while diving.