Hearing protectors reduce the loudness of sound reaching the ears, making it possible to listen to louder sounds for a longer time. An easy way to become aware of potentially harmful noise is to pay attention to warning signs that a sound might be damaging to your hearing.
A sound may be harmful if:. Most cases of noise-induced hearing loss are caused by repeated exposure to moderate levels of noise over many years, not by a few cases of very loud noise. Wearing hearing protectors can help prevent damage from both moderate and loud noise. If your workplace has harmful noise levels, plan ahead and wear hearing protection. People who may be regularly exposed to harmful noise because of their jobs include:. Blahd Jr. Author: Healthwise Staff.
Medical Review: William H. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. This information can be confusing or overwhelming because most people are not familiar with sound levels and how loud a decibel sounds, or at what point noise exposure could lead to the need for hearing aids. It is important to understand exactly what a decibel is.
A decibel is a unit of intensity of sound, abbreviated dB. The decibel scale is logarithmic, meaning it increases by the power of 10 each time. The smallest audible sound is 0 dB. A sound that is 10 times more powerful is 10dB, a sound that is 1, times more powerful is 30 dB, and so on it helps to count the zeroes in the scale to keep track!
Curious about your hearing? A close-range gunblast may be brief, but the intensity and proximity are enough to cause immediate hearing damage. Likewise, while a hairdryer isn't as loud as a gun, if you're operating one for hours every workday at a hair salon, you can start to experience hearing loss.
If you're at an event—for example, a concert—and you keep finding that you have to raise your voice for your friends to hear you, then it's too loud. The same is true if you keep asking your friends to speak up. A good rule of thumb on distance: You should be able to hear your friends at three feet away, and no closer. Shouting or speaking very loudly means double the hearing damage—not only from whatever loud noise you're enduring, but also the close-range shouting!
If you leave the noisy environment, and you notice your speech sounds muffled or full, you've likely damaged your hearing. Any pain or ringing in the ears is also a big red flag. There's not much you can do at this point except give your ears a rest, lay off the headphones for a few days. Are noise levels at the office comfortable? Are you repeatedly exposed to noise that you find annoyingly loud? If so, talk to your supervisor or company personnel director. For work or home, consider downloading a sound measurement app to help you approximate the noise in your environment.
Wear hearing protection. Foam ear plugs are inexpensive and easy to carry in your purse, pocket, car console or carry-on luggage. If you suspect you have hearing loss, get a hearing test. Living with untreated hearing loss is linked to cognitive decline, depression and social isolation.
Military jet aircraft take-off from aircraft carrier with afterburner at 50 ft dB. Thunderclap, chain saw. Oxygen torch dB. Steel mill, auto horn at 1 meter. Turbo-fan aircraft at takeoff power at ft dB. Riveting machine dB ; live rock music - dB. Average human pain threshold.
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