Stop and listen. What do you hear? Noises are all around us. From the jackhammer at the construction site across the street to the traffic in our cities to the planes overhead to the thumping bass of the car stereo next to you, it seems we can’t avoid noise.
Some noises are pleasant – the sound of children’s laughter, the relaxing melodies of music or the crash of waves against the shore for example. But loud noise is not only annoying, it can be hazardous to your health and your hearing.
Research has shown that prolonged exposure to noise can be damaging to your health. It can lead to stress responses such as headaches, depression and even high blood pressure.
Prolonged exposure to noise can also damage your hearing. Whether the exposure is from music playing too loudly while wearing your stereo headphones during your daily exercise, from repeated exposure to the explosion of your gun when you hunt or from the daily drone of the equipment in the factory where you work – too much noise can lead to loss of hearing.
Noise exposure can lead to both temporary and permanent hearing loss – known as temporary or permanent threshold shifts. Temporary shifts can occur from one time exposure such as that you might experience the day after a concert or after the explosion of a firecracker. This type of shift is often accompanied by a feeling of fullness and/or even some ringing in your ears that goes away after a few hours or days. Permanent threshold shifts occur due to prolonged exposure to loud noise or following repeated short-term exposures from which your ears do not fully recover.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a daily noise dose (eight hours of exposure) at 80dB is enough to damage your hearing. This is the level of exposure at which hearing protection programs in the workplace become mandatory. But, even one-time exposure to excessively loud noise can cause permanent hearing loss.
Whispered Speech – Less than 30dB
Conversational Speech – 40 to 50 dB
Heavy Traffic – 80dB
Kitchen Blender – 90dB
Lawn Mower – 100dB
Airplane Engine – 120dB
Shot Gun – 140dB
Even many of the everyday noises around us are loud enough to be damaging to our hearing. Surprised? Concerned enough to do something about it?
Your hearing is one of your most precious senses. It should last a lifetime. Most of us experience some degree of hearing loss, as we get older, often due to preventable exposure to loud noise when we were younger. So here are some common sense tips to help you preserve your hearing:
If you wear stereo headphones while listening to music, a person sitting or standing next to you should not be able to detect the sound. If they can, the volume is too loud – turn it down.
When enjoying outdoor activities that involve noise – hunting and auto racing for example – always wear hearing protection. A set of sound plugs can be purchased inexpensively at many stores.
When mowing the lawn, using power tools or operating other noise-producing equipment always use sound plugs.
Encourage others to turn down the volume on their stereos, car radios and video games. Healthy hearing habits are easier to form when you are young, so set the example for your children
If your place of employment has a Noise Control Plan, always comply with it. Use personal hearing protection equipment whenever necessary.
A good rule of thumb is to use hearing protection or reduce the loudness in some way whenever listening becomes difficult due to the loudness of the noise around you. You’ll feel less stressed and your ears will thank you!
Cardinal Hill of Northern Kentucky offers a full range of audiological and hearing services, including services related to hearing loss prevention. Services are provided for individuals and industry.
If you have questions or concerns about noise or your hearing, give us a call today. We will be happy to answer your questions or schedule an appointment.