The world has become a loud, noisy place. Everywhere we go, the surrounding sounds drown us. And when there isn’t noise enough, we make our own by turning up the volume for entertainment. In fact, we are so used to noise that silence seems strange to us.

Have you ever realised that nature doesn’t make much noise and the sounds that God has created are always soft and soothing, unless nature is in an angry mood and these occasional loud roars and thundering sounds die down to give way to soothing natural chatter.

It is man-made sounds that cause noise pollution, and like every other kind of pollution, this one too has its harmful effects. When someone is exposed to loud noise, even if it is as pleasing as your favourite kind of music, over a long period of time, both temporary and permanent hearing loss can occur. This is not to say that the person can’t hear anything, but just that they won’t be able to hear as well as others do. And the bad news about hearing loss is that once damage to the ears takes place, it can’t be reversed.

of music, over a long period of time, both temporary and permanent hearing loss can occur. This is not to say that the person can’t hear anything, but just that they won’t be able to hear as well as they did before. And the bad news about hearing loss is that once damage to the ears takes place, it can’t be reversed.

The main problem these days is recreational loud noise, from TV, MP3 players, smartphones, tablets, etc., and noisy places with loud music blaring from speakers. Almost everyone who has a digital device, whether personal or a shared one at home, and uses a headphone or ear bud, and they listen to their favourite videos, music, short social media clips and what not, at a rather high volume. Music played loudly in the car may seem to make the journey more fun, but it is hurting our ears.

How to protect your ears
• Avoid noisy places and if you can’t avoid them, don’t stay long.
• Wear earplugs as well as ear muffs if you have to be in a noisy place fairly often, especially those who work with power tools and in factories.
• Turn the volume down of the TV and music that you listen to and try to tune yourself to listening to soft and low sounds.

Children who play in school bands can be exposed to high decibel sounds, depending on which instruments they sit near or play. Musicians and DJs are also prone to hearing loss. And the hearing loss may not occur as a dramatic event, but it may take effect with age. Experts have also noted that more young adults are now facing the issue of hearing loss than ever before.

How does the ear works

The inner part of the ear contains tiny hair cells that are actually nerve endings. The hair cells change sound into electric signals that is then carried to the brain, which recognises them as sound.

These tiny hair cells can be easily damaged by loud sounds. Over time, repeated exposure to loud noise and music can cause hearing loss.

How loud is too loud

Sound travels in waves and these waves cause vibrations in the air. The number of vibrations in a second is called frequency and fewer vibrations means low sound or pitch.

Sound intensity is measured in decibels (dB), based on powers of ten, and normal conversation has a sound intensity of around 50-60 decibels, whispering would probably be measured at below 35dB. Loud music in a disco or restaurant would be around 110-120dB. But the thing to note about sound intensity is that the measurement doesn’t go up one step at a time but multiplies as it increases, for instance, 90dB is ten times louder than 80dB!

Ears start to hurt from noise at around 90dB. Power tools have noise levels between 90 and 100 decibels, a motorcycle can make a sound of around 115 decibels.

Headphones on music players can have sound levels that go up to 120 decibels, which is extremely dangerous. According to a study, noises that exceed 110dB can “strip away myelin sheath from the nerve cells, which hinders the delivery of electrical signals from the ears to the brain.” This damage to the nerve cells is permanent and cannot be reversed.

The sound is too loud if:

• The noise or music makes it difficult for you to hear what someone is saying,

• If you can ‘feel’ the music you are listening to,

• If someone next to you can hear the music coming through the earphones you are wearing,

• It is made by power tools or other noisy machinery, guns or fireworks, amplifiers, helicopter or aircraft,

• It leaves your ears ringing or feeling dull.

The effects you’d feel

• If you have been exposed to and affected by too much noise, you may have difficulty in hearing and may feel like you’re hearing through cotton wool stuffed in your ears.

• And even if you do hear what is being said, you may find it difficult to understand what people are saying.

• You may also feel like your ears need to ‘pop’, as it happens when we are travelling in an aeroplane.

• You may hear ringing or high whistling sounds in your ears. This may subside after sometime but if it persists, you need to see a doctor at once.

• These affects may be temporary but listening to noise that is too loud and for too long can cause lasting damage to the ears.

You need to take care of your ears and hearing from a young age to be able to enjoy the pleasure of listening for a lifetime.

The safe way to listen to music

On iPod or MP3 player: The small ear bud style headphones (inserted into the ears) may seem handy but because they don’t block outside sounds, users tend to increase the volume to block out other noise. So it is better to go for over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones instead of ear buds and thus block out the surrounding noise so that you can listen to your music on a normal volume.

If others near you can hear what you are listening to through your headphones, the volume is too high, turn it down.

It is best to avoid using your headphones for too long as it can lead to hearing loss that may not be apparent immediately but will manifest itself with age.

Musicians and those who spend a lot of time in noisy places where music is played loudly, can use earplugs for protection.

Published in Dawn, Young World August 26th, 2017