More than 30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous sound levels on a regular basis. Individuals of all ages including children, adolescents, young adults and older people can develop NIHL. 

Exposure occurs in the workplace, in recreational settings and at home. There is an increasing awareness of the harmful noises in recreational activities, such as, concerts, sporting events, target shooting or hunting, snowmobiles, lawnmowers, go-carts, woodworking and other hobby equipment. 

Harmful noises at home may come from vacuum cleaners, garbage disposals, lawn mowers, leaf blowers and shop tools. People who live in either urban or rural settings may be exposed to noisy devices on a daily basis. 

Of the 28 million Americans who have some degree of hearing loss, about one-third have been affected, at least in part, by noise. 

Noise-induced hearing loss is in most cases 100% preventable. All individuals should understand the hazards of noise and how to practice good health in everyday life.

• Know which noises can cause damage (those above 85 decibels).
• Wear ear plugs or other hearing protective devices when involved in a loud activity (special earplugs and earmuffs are available at hardware stores and sporting good stores).
• Be alert to hazardous noise in the environment.
• Protect children who are too young to protect themselves.
• Make family, friends and colleagues aware of the hazards of noise.
• Have a medical examination by an otolaryngologist, a physician who specializes in diseases of the ears, nose, throat, head and neck, and a hearing test by an audiologist, a health professional trained to identify and measure hearing loss and to rehabilitate persons with hearing impairments.

Scientists focusing their research on the mechanisms causing NIHL hope to understand more fully the internal workings of the ear, that will result in better prevention and treatment strategies. For example, scientists have discovered that damage to the structure of the hair bundle of the hair cell is related to temporary and permanent loss of hearing. They have found that when the hair bundle is exposed to prolonged periods of damaging sound, the basic structure of the hair bundle is destroyed and the important connections among hair cells are disrupted which directly lead to hearing loss.

Other studies are investigating potential drug therapies that may provide insight into the mechanisms of NIHL. For example, scientists studying altered blood flow in the cochlea are seeking the effect on the hair cells. They have shown reduced cochlear blood flow following exposure to noise. Further research has shown that a drug that promotes blood flow used for treatment of peripheral vascular disease (any abnormal condition in blood vessels outside the heart), maintains circulation in the cochlea during exposure to noise. These findings may lead to the development of treatment strategies to reduce NIHL.

Continuing efforts will provide opportunities that can aid research on noise-induced hearing loss as well as other diseases and disorders that cause hearing loss. Research is the way to develop new, more effective methods to prevent, diagnose, treat and eventually eliminate these diseases and disorders and improve the health and quality of life for all Americans.

All of us start out life with a full set of tiny sensors in the inner ear called “hair cells”. They are so small that they can only be seen with a very high powered microscope. The hair cells are spread across a long membrane in the cochlea (inner ear) like the keys on a piano… low frequencies at one end and high frequencies at the other. We all start losing hair cells from the time we are born. They tend to die from the high frequency end first. This progresses very slowly throughout our lives and becomes noticeable in our late 50′s and early 60′s in most people.

It is recommended that you get a pair of earmuffs for yourself and for the child. Toddler’s heads are almost adult size by the time they are a year old, so most earmuffs will work fine. Simply put them on your child when you anticipate a blast of hazardous sound and take them off when you don’t. This will reduce the total cumulative noise exposure and protect those thousands of little hair cells. It will also set a good example for the child and for the other people attending the concert or sporting event. They can learn that you can have a great time and protect your important sense of hearing at the same time.

One thing that seems to speed up that process is exposure to loud noise. Loud bursts of noise (like a dragster blasting off from the starting line) or prolonged noise (like working in a moderately noisy factory for years) can have the exact same effect. There is no evidence that a child will be more or less vulnerable to noise exposure than an adult. The fact is that BOTH are going to get damage from loud sounds. The only thing is that a toddler has more to lose because they are so much earlier on in the natural process of losing hair cells and is a critical time for things such as speech development. 

Damage to hearing is caused by sounds that are too loud, regardless of their frequency. Damage from sound is determined by the loudness of the sound and also by the duration of exposure to the sound. Brief exposure to an 85 dB sound (such as a blender) is O.K. However, prolonged continuous exposure (8 or more hours) to the same sound could damage hearing. Some sounds (such as gunfire or standing next to a helicopter) are so loud (120-160 dB), that any brief exposure to them without wearing earmuffs or earplugs can damage hearing. (This means that the dog whistles are at a very high frequency but that they do not move the air enough to damage the inner ear hair cells.  

A conservative rule of thumb reflects no more than 60 minutes at the 60% volume. 

It is the decibel level that reaches the ears and how long it is listened to that are the issues. No matter what the sound source is, if that sound is 85dB or more, there are limits to how long a person (any person) can safely listen to it.
 

When to Wear Your Ears Rock products?

• Work to protect your ears from noise
• Musicians and Concert Goers 
• Sporting Events
• Relaxation
• Concentration 
• Increase Productivity
• Comfort Sensory Sensitivities
• Recreational Activities (ie. target shooting, hunting, powersports)
• Gas powered equipment and power tools (ie. lawnmowers, leaf blowers, saws)

Other than hearing loss associated with aging (Presbycusis), the most prevalent cause is working around noise and recreational activities. The ear does not know the difference between loud noise and loud music. To the ear, noise and music are just vibrations in the air. Rarely, a person may suffer a permanent hearing loss from a virus or even a brain tumor. These usually have a sudden onset and may be accompanied by dizziness. Hearing loss from noise or music tends to be gradual in nature with no dizziness. 

Only hearing losses that are from the middle ear (where kids get ear infections) or from the outer ear (such as wax occlusion) can be treated. Rarely can a hearing loss be treated if it is from the inner ear. The inner ear is actually in the brain, so inner ear surgery is brain surgery. Having said this, researchers are working on a “vaccination” that can be given to reverse inner ear hearing loss.