Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a condition that can gradually affect a person’s ability to hear, especially when exposed to loud sounds over time. This happens when loud noises damage the sensitive hair cells in the inner ear that are responsible for sending sound signals to the brain. Everyday activities like listening to music, using machinery or attending concerts can contribute to this type of hearing loss if precautions aren’t taken. While NIHL is often preventable, it’s important to understand how to protect your hearing and take steps to reduce risks. By being aware and proactive, you can help preserve your hearing for the future and continue enjoying the sounds of daily life.

What Are the Effects of High Levels of Noise on the Ears?

To understand how noise can damage your ears, it’s important to know how the ear works. The ear is made up of three parts: the outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. The outer ear, also known as the pinna, collects sound waves and directs them into the ear canal. These sound waves then pass through the ossicles in the middle ear, tiny bones that move and turn the sound waves into vibrations. The vibrations travel through fluid in the inner ear, where they are turned into neural signals that the brain can interpret as sound.

High levels of noise, especially when it is loud or sustained, can harm the delicate structures inside the ear. When sound is too loud, it can damage or even destroy the tiny hair cells in the inner ear. These hair cells are vital for detecting sound vibrations and sending signals to the brain. Over time, exposure to loud sounds can lead to permanent hearing loss, making it harder to understand speech or enjoy everyday sounds. It’s important to protect your ears from high noise levels to avoid long-term damage.

Acoustic Trauma

Acoustic trauma and noise-related hearing loss typically happen due to exposure to loud noises. Sudden, intense sounds like gunshots can cause long-term damage to the small bones in your inner ear and can also harm the sensory organs responsible for balance. The hearing loss caused by this type of trauma can affect one ear or both ears. Acoustic trauma can also result from head injuries, like those from car accidents, falls or contact sports like boxing. These kinds of injuries can seriously affect your hearing and balance if not properly addressed.

Symptoms of acoustic trauma can include ringing in the ears, a feeling of fullness in the ear and difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds. If exposure to loud noises continues over time, these effects can become more noticeable. To protect your hearing, it’s important to take precautions and limit exposure to loud sounds. By doing so, you can help maintain your hearing health and prevent long-term effects on your hearing abilities.

What Sound Are Safe and Which Sounds Are Unsafe?

Everyday sounds surround us, but not all of them are safe for our ears. Sounds at lower levels, typically under 70 decibels (dBs), do not pose a risk to hearing, even with long exposure. These include background noises like quiet conversations, typing on a keyboard or the hum of a refrigerator. However, when sounds reach 85dBs or more, they can become harmful over time. Noises like heavy traffic, loud music or busy restaurants can contribute to hearing damage if exposure is prolonged. The longer and louder the sound, the greater the potential risk to hearing health.

On the other hand, certain sounds are considered unsafe due to their high intensity. Exposure to noises above 100dBs, like car horns, sporting events or sirens, can lead to hearing problems in a short period. Extremely loud sounds, like fireworks, construction equipment or gunfire, which can exceed 120dBs, may cause immediate damage. Being aware of your noise environment and taking steps to reduce exposure – like lowering the volume on personal devices or wearing ear protection in loud settings – can help safeguard your hearing.

How Can You Test for Noise-Induced Hearing Loss?

Detecting noise-induced hearing loss begins with a thorough evaluation by an audiologist. One of the most common tests used is pure-tone audiometry, where you wear headphones and listen to sounds at different pitches and volumes. This test helps determine if certain frequencies, particularly high-pitched sounds that are often affected first by noise exposure, are harder to hear. Speech recognition tests may also be used to assess how well you understand spoken words at different volume levels. These assessments give a clear picture of your hearing abilities and help identify any damage caused by prolonged exposure to loud noise.

In addition to audiometry, other tests can provide more insight into potential hearing loss. Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing measures the activity of the inner ear’s hair cells, detecting early signs of damage before noticeable hearing loss occurs. Tympanometry is another test that evaluates how well the middle ear is functioning, helping rule out other possible causes of hearing problems. Routine hearing check-ups are essential, especially for those regularly exposed to loud environments, as early detection allows for better management and protection of long-term hearing health.

How Do You Protect Your Hearing?

When working in loud environments, wearing hearing protection is essential to keeping your ears safe. Another way to reduce the risk of hearing damage is by identifying the source of loud noise and keeping as much distance from it as possible. It’s also important to limit your exposure to loud sounds during your free time, as everyday activities can contribute to long-term hearing damage. Over time, repeated exposure to loud noise can add up and eventually lead to permanent hearing loss. Taking steps to protect your hearing now can make a big difference in the future. To reduce your risk, consider the following:

Use earplugs or earmuffs to protect your hearing.
Use well-fitted noise-canceling earphones that allow you to change the volume.
Walk away from loud noises.
Take listening breaks and give your ears complete noise often.
Limit your daily use of personal audio devices.

Noise can permanently damage your hearing, you should try to avoid noise above 70 decibels to prevent long term hearing loss.

Follow these steps to assess if the noise may cause damage:

You cannot hear someone even though they are relatively close by or at least an arms-length away.
You have to turn up the volume on your device, TV or mobile phone to hear clearly.
Once leaving a noisy area, the speech around you sounds muffled and as if you are underwater or you have ringing in your ears persistently.

Noise-induced hearing loss can affect your hearing without the right protection. If you notice signs of hearing loss, it is best to schedule a hearing test. If you want to learn more about noise-induced hearing loss or how to protect your hearing from loud noise, schedule an appointment with an audiologist.