Many people don’t control their exposure to loud sounds and that comes at a cost to their health.
Sound is just waves of pressure that our ears and brains are able to interpret, but it is physical pressure, and too much too fast will cause damage. Even lighter punches over time will lead to injury -- injury that’s often permanent.
If you enjoy blasting music in your headphones or going to live concerts, you may want to be more careful when it comes to protecting your hearing. According to one study, more than 1 billion young people could be at risk for hearing loss.
″I think any audiologist would tell you that there are many sounds in our environment that can be damaging to hearing. But, I think most people overlook them or they believe that the impact is temporary,” Cleveland Clinic audiologist Dr. Sarah Sydlowski said.
Sydlowski said it has become very common, especially for young people, to regularly use headphones throughout the day. The study showed it is common for people to use headphones at an elevated listening level. Based on the combination of those two factors, it can put someone at risk for hearing loss.
Ringing in your ears, muffled hearing or a plugged sensation are all signs that damage has been done -- even if your ears seem to return to normal.
So, what is a safe volume for listening? “Usually something below like a 50% level on a phone or when you’re using headphones, or a music player is pretty appropriate. Secondly, if you can’t control the volume, then you want to move as far away as possible from the sound source,” Sydlowski said.
While hearing damage is commonly caused by exposure to loud sounds, there are other sources. Those sources include medications, certain chronic diseases, and even something as simple as wax buildup. If you’re having any hearing difficulty it’s worth seeing a doctor.