Noise Induced Hearing Loss NIHL
The world we live in is a very loud place. But, unfortunately, sometimes, during our busy lives today, we don’t stop to consider how loud sound can damage our hearing – until it’s too late. I’m Dr. Amy, and as a Doctor of Audiology, I’ve seen many patients with a variety of hearing loss. As an expert on hearing loss, I know it’s important for more people to think about protecting their hearing. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait until the damage is done before we take measures to protect our hearing. Noise induced hearing loss is preventable – all it takes is attention to a few easy-to-follow points.
Symptoms
Have you left a loud bar or concert with ringing in your ears and a muffled sound? That “ear hangover” is from too much noise in your auditory system. If your ears experience that regularly, you will develop damage to your hearing.
These are common signs of hearing impairment due to noise exposure:
– Difficulty understanding speech
– Struggling to hear in background noise
– Tinnitus (ear noises like ringing, buzzing, humming)
– Sensitivity to loud sounds
Why does that happen?
In the ear, there are these tiny cells called hair cells. They get their name because of the “hair-like” structures at the top of the cells.
When hair cells are healthy, they stand up straight and tall. However, a loud sound generates a traveling wave in the cochlea (inner ear), physically disrupting the hair cells. You can see the difference here:
Damage to these cells in the inner ear prevents sound from traveling up to the brain correctly. In addition, there may be damage from the cells or connections to the auditory nerve that sends it to the brain.
Treatment
Unfortunately, there is no way to restore permanent hearing loss from noise damage. Science is still working to understand how to restore hearing by repairing damaged hair cells one day. Currently, some animals can regenerate hair cells, but humans cannot.
Hearing aids can only help to some extent. While hearing aids help many people with audibility, amplifying sound through the hearing aids still sends the sound through a damaged auditory system. In addition, patients with severe hearing loss due to noise exposure often find that volume does not resolve speech clarity.
Prevention: Reduce or Avoid Loud Noise
Noise damage is preventable. And there are easy (and stylish) ways to prevent noise induced hearing loss.
Here are some rules to follow:
1. Stay at or below 85 decibels.
Research tells us that noise exposure above this level from loud noises is likely due to damage. Keeping the volume below 85 decibels helps to preserve your hearing. What is the volume of the loud noise in your environment? Read more here.
2. Use hearing protection.
Prevent damage from loud noise and repeated exposure. Nowadays, there are stylish ways to protect your hearing. For example, Loop earplugs are trendy and come in fun colors.
3. Get a hearing test.
Are you noticing tinnitus or trouble hearing? A hearing test will show if there is any hearing loss in one or both ears. It’s a great idea to have a baseline hearing test and have your hearing tested. Sensorineural hearing loss can come on gradually.
What about if I wear hearing aids?
If you currently have hearing loss and wear hearing aids, it’s essential to protect your ears from loud noise to prevent worsening in hearing. Therefore, you’ll want to remove the hearing aids if you’re engaging in activity with loud noise exposure (e.g., gun range, lawnmowers, sporting events, etc.) and put in some hearing protection.
Looking for hearing protection at the shooting range? Take a look at these options.
Bottom Line
Follow these steps to protect your hearing, and your ears will thank you. While we can’t prevent all hearing loss, noise induced hearing loss is preventable with some care and attention.
