Top 10 tips to help protect your hearing

[ISI Sajawal]

The key to keeping your hearing healthy is knowing how much loud sound you’re exposed to. A ‘noise diet’ can protect your hearing from [CENSORED]ure problems.

 

Most cases of deafness are caused by damage to the tiny hair cells in the inner ear. This damage can be caused by too much noise, and it’s permanent. Noise-related hearing loss is usually irreversible.

It is important that we all take steps to prevent noise-related damage. The key to keeping your hearing intact is to avoid loud noise.

The louder the sound, the less time you can safely listen to it. Just because a sound isn’t annoying doesn’t make it safe.

Noisy occupations, such as working in factories or on roadworks, used to be the most common cause of hearing problems. But with the tightening of health and safety rules, working in a noisy industry should be less hazardous to your hearing, provided you wear the correct ear protection.

Nowadays it’s recreational loud noise that’s the main problem, especially from MP3 players, such as iPods, as well as noisy clubs and music gigs. That's thought to be why hearing loss is increasingly affecting younger people.

Read More : 

Noise levels around the stages at music festivals can reach 110 decibels or more. That's like standing next to a jackhammer drilling into concrete.
Spending too long listening to loud music can cause permanent damage to your ears, resulting in problems such as tinnitus and hearing loss.
However, ear health campaigners say that music lovers are not aware of how important it is to protect their ears.
In a survey of 2,711 festival-goers in 2008, 84% said they experienced dullness of hearing or ringing in the ears after listening to loud music.
"These are the first signs of hearing damage," says Donna Tipping from Action on Hearing Loss, the charity that commissioned the study.
"The next morning or a couple of days later, your hearing may gradually return to normal but over time, with continued exposure, there can be permanent damage."
Tipping says the risk of damage to hearing is based on how loud the music is and how long you listen to it for.
"If you can't talk to someone two metres away without shouting, the noise level could be damaging," she says.
The dangers to hearing are just as serious at an open-air music festival as they are in an indoor nightclub. Volumes of 137 decibels have been recorded near the music stages at some music festivals, according to Action on Hearing Loss.
"At 140 decibels, which is the same as a jet plane taking off at close range, your ears start hurting," says Tipping.
Using earplugs
Action on Hearing Loss recommends wearing earplugs for music, standing away from the speakers and taking regular breaks from the loudest areas.
Tipping says earplugs are the music industry's best-kept secret. "DJs and musicians have been wearing earplugs for years and many recommend them to fans," she says.
These earplugs are designed specifically for clubs and gigs and don't muffle sound. There are different types of earplugs available, from affordable and reusable one-size-fits-all plugs to custom moulds used by musicians and DJs.
"Most of them work by reducing the noise level that reaches your ear," says Tipping. "This means you can still hear the music the way it is, but at a lower volume.
"If you hear tingling or buzzing after listening to a set, give your ears a break. You risk more damage if you don't," says Tipping.
"Wear reusable earplugs, stand well away from the enormous speakers and spend some downtime at the festival's chill-out area."
Anybody's hearing can be damaged by loud music and nobody can harden their ears against that damage.
"If you think you've toughened up your ears to loud music or become used to loud music, it's possible you have already suffered some damage," says Tipping.
"Once hearing is gone, it's gone for good," says Tipping. "The best solution is to protect your hearing in the first place."

Are you exposed to too much noise?

You can lose some hearing after being exposed to loud noises for too long, for example by standing close to speakers at a nightclub. Or hearing can be damaged after a short burst of explosive noise, such as gunshots or fireworks.

If you work or frequently spend time in a noisy place or listen to loud music a lot, you could be losing your hearing without even realising it.

The best way to avoid developing noise-induced hearing loss is to keep away from loud noise as much as you can.

Here’s a guide to some typical noise levels, measured in decibels (dB). The higher the number, the louder the noise. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says noise levels above 105dB can damage your hearing if endured for more than 15 minutes each week. But lower levels, such as between 80dB and 90dB can also cause permanent damage if you're exposed to them for hours every day.

• normal conversation: 60-65dB
• a busy street: 75-85dB
• lawn mower/heavy traffic: 85dB
• forklift truck: 90dB
• hand drill: 98dB
• heavy lorry about seven metres away: 95-100dB
• motorbikes: 100dB
• cinema: some films regularly top 100dB during big action scenes
• disco/nightclub/car horn: 110dB
• MP3 player on loud: 112dB
• chainsaw: 115-120dB
• rock concert/ambulance siren: 120dB

How loud is too loud?

The risk of damage to your hearing is based on two factors: how loud and for how long.

Experts agree that continued exposure to noise at or above 80-85dB over time can cause hearing loss.

You’ve been listening to a noise that's too loud or for too long if you have ringing in your ears or dull hearing after listening to loud music. However, you may still be damaging your hearing even if you don’t have these symptoms.

If loud music ever causes pain in your ears, leave the room or turn it down immediately. Without noise measuring equipment it is impossible to tell what noise level you are being exposed to. So, a handy rule of thumb is that if you can’t talk to someone two metres away without shouting, the noise level could be damaging.

10 tips for safer listening

1.     Use earplugs

The louder the noise and the longer you're exposed to it, the greater the chance of damaging your hearing. Protect your ears with ear protectors – earplugs or earmuffs – and get away from the noise as quickly or as often as you can. If you can't leave the venue, take regular breaks. A 10-minute rest break will give your ears some time to recover.

2.     Turn down the music

Don't listen to your personal music player at very high volumes and never to drown out background noise. If the music is uncomfortable for you to listen to, or you can’t hear external sounds when you’ve got your headphones on, then it's too loud. It's also too loud if the person next to you can hear the music from your headphones.

3.    Use the 60:60 rule

To enjoy music from your MP3 player safely, listen to your music at 60% of the maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes a day. All MP3 players bought within the EU have a 'smart volume' feature, so use it if you have one. It will help you regulate the volume. 

4.    Wear headphones

When listening to your personal music player, choose noise-cancelling headphones, or go retro with older muff-type headphones. These block out background noise and allow you to have the volume lower. Ear-bud style headphones and in-the-ear headphones are less effective at drowning out background noise. Try to take regular breaks from your headphones, though, to give your ears a rest.

5.     Turn down the dial

Turn down the volume on your TV, radio or hi-fi a notch. Even a small reduction in volume can make a big difference to the risk of damage to your hearing. If you need to raise your voice to be heard above the sound, turn it down.

6.     Use earplugs when you’re listening to live music

They can reduce average sound levels by between 15 and 35 decibels. They’re widely available at many live music venues and shouldn’t spoil your enjoyment of the music.

7.     Don't put up with work noise

If you’re experiencing noise at work, talk to your human resources (HR) department or your manager and ask for advice on reducing the noise and getting hearing protection.

8.     Wear ear protectors

Wear ear protectors (earplugs or earmuffs) if you are using noisy equipment such as power drills, saws, sanders or lawn mowers.

9.     Be careful in the car

Listening to music in a confined space increases the risk of hearing damage. Don’t listen to music too loud for too long.

10.   Have a hearing detox

Give your ears time to recover after they’ve been exposed to loud noise. According to Action on Hearing Loss, you need at least 16 hours of rest for your ears to recover after spending around two hours in 100dB sound, for example in a club. Reducing this recovery time increases the risk of permanent deafness.

How long can I listen to loud music for?

 

It depends what volume you listen at. An increase of only a few decibels has a dramatic effect on the danger to hearing. This is because each increase of 3dB represents a doubling of sound energy (and halves the time you should listen for). As an example, being on a dance floor for 15 minutes at 100dB delivers the same amount of noise energy to the ear (and therefore potential damage) as being on a slightly less noisy dance floor at 95dB for 45 minutes. A small reduction in volume makes a big difference to the length of time you should listen for.

In workplaces, staff are protected by the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, which sti[CENSORED]te that hearing protection must be worn if the daily average noise levels reach 85dB. At 115dB the maximum daily exposure time is about 30 seconds. 

But remember, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations don't apply outside the workplace, so it's up to you to safeguard your own hearing at clubs, gigs and wherever else you listen to loud music.

Further information and resources

There are a variety of apps that can help monitor your exposure to loud noise, such as:

• SoundMeter+ provides accurate sounds levels and noise exposure readings to help prevent hearing loss.
• Play It Down is a free iPhone and iPad app that allows users to assess their hearing ability and noisy environments.