Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) - Caused By Daily Activities

Most people are aware of the basics of noise-induced hearing loss, hearing loss caused by noise. What the majority of people are not aware of is that this type of hearing loss can be caused by common everyday activities that we all take part in. Most people have listened to loud music whether it was via headphones or a loud concert. Many people have driven on a highway, mowed a lawn, used a leaf blower, or hunted.

Some activities can cause hearing loss gradually over time if done for a certain amount of time, and others can be caused instantaneously from one single blow. Driving on a highway, although this does not seem to hurt your ears, can cause permanent hearing loss if done for long enough. Many truck drivers have this problem because they drive everyday for hours upon hours without ear protection.

The same applies for landscapers. They make a living off of keeping properties looking neat using various loud appliances such as leaf blowers and lawn mowers. If protective earmuffs are not worn, they are most likely permanently damaging the hair cells inside of their ears that send signals to the brain, which help us to hear.

Even events such as concerts or listening to music too loudly on the radio can cause major damage to your hearing mechanism. Our ears cannot handle the dangerously high decibel levels we submit them to so often.

Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the main causes of hearing loss in humans, yet it is completely preventable. All people need to do is take preventative measures such as turning down the music or decibel level of certain noise producing objects or wearing hearing protection. Even if you buy yourself a pair of earplugs from your local drugstore, you are probably saving your hearing in the long run. For those who use extremely loud appliances or are always in loud work environments, you may want to purchase a good pair of protective earmuffs.

The vital thing to remember is that once you lose your hearing, it cannot be fixed. That is why it is important to protect this sense while you still have it. Hearing aids and FM devices are available to amplify the sound that you hear, so this makes it easier for a person who is hard of hearing to hear sounds they would not normally hear well. Cochlear implants are also becoming quite popular these days. They are inserted surgically underneath the skin on the part of the skull closet to the ear. When sound waves enter the ear mechanism, the signal bypasses the inner ear where the problem is and goes directly to the implant, which then reads the signal instead.

The most important thing to remember is that no one is safe from noise. There is always noise around us, whether or not we create it. Whether we are just using everyday loud appliances or working in a loud environment, we are constantly being exposed to damaging noise. The best thing we can do is be aware of the danger and make an effort to reduce the noise and the frequency of it as much as possible in our daily lives.

Sources:
http://www.medicinenet.com/noise_induced_hearing_loss_and_its_prevention/article.htm