How to Prevent Hearing Loss: Essential Tips for Protecting Your Hearing
Hearing loss makes it hard to hear or understand sounds. Did you know that once you lose your hearing, it often can’t be restored? Fortunately, many common causes of hearing loss can be prevented - and you don’t have to stop doing the things you love! The ears gather sounds from our environment and turn them into messages for the brain to decode.
Approximately 15 percent of adults 18 years of age or older report some trouble hearing, and the risk rises as we age. Up to 39 percent of adults in their sixties are having problems hearing. With hearing loss, as with many conditions, prevention is key. Though hearing loss is common, it isn’t unavoidable. And there are ways you can lower your risk.
Understanding Hearing Loss
Hearing loss happens when there is a problem with one or more parts of the ear, the nerves coming from the ears, or the hearing part of the brain. Some people are born with hearing loss. But hearing loss may come on slowly over time or show up later in life. Hearing loss runs in some families, or may be caused by a birth defects, infections, or medicines that damage the ear. You can’t prevent these kinds of hearing loss. But you can do something about noise-induced hearing loss.
Most hearing loss is caused by damage to the hair cells in the cochlea of the ear. This damage or loss of hair cells usually is caused by aging or exposure to loud noise. This is the most common type of hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss is considered sensorineural.
A sudden loud noise (like an explosion) or being around loud sounds over time can damage the tiny hair cells of the inner ear, making it hard to hear. If the noise around you is so loud that you must shout to be heard or you can’t hear the people around you, there is a chance that you’ll have some trouble hearing.
Types of Hearing Loss
- Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Occurs due to damage to the inner ear or the auditory nerve.
- Conductive Hearing Loss: This type of hearing loss occurs when your ear is blocked or injured.
- Mixed Hearing Loss: This occurs when you have a combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss.
- Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (also called rapid sensorineural hearing loss) is when you experience a loss of hearing instantly or very quickly over a few days.
It depends on the type of hearing loss you’re experiencing. If hearing loss is caused by a virus, for example, it may be treated with antibiotics.
Anatomy of the Ear (Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
Understanding Tinnitus
Have you ever heard a ringing or buzzing sound in your ears after going to a party, concert, or other really loud event? This is called tinnitus. It usually gets better over a day or two. But tinnitus or a muffled feeling in your ears is a sign that there is some damage to the hair cells in your ear. Hair cells take sound waves and change them to electrical signals that are sent to the brain. When the hair cells are damaged, they can't send sound signals as well as they did before.
Tinnitus and hearing loss may not go away if you listen to loud music or hear loud sounds over and over again. That's why construction workers and airport workers wear ear protection. Lawn mowers and power tools, like chainsaws, are loud enough to cause tinnitus and hearing loss. Listening to loud music a lot can cause problems over time, especially if you use headphones or earbuds. Some musicians have lost their hearing and have tinnitus - a real problem for someone who needs to hear to make music. That's why you may see more musicians wearing ear protection while they're playing.
Causes of Tinnitus (Source: American Tinnitus Association)
Practical Tips to Prevent Hearing Loss
Loud noise can be very damaging to your hearing, whether it’s a loud burst or years of prolonged exposure. Sounds are measured in decibels, and those exceeding 85 decibels can hurt your ears - permanently. A good rule of thumb is if there’s so much noise around you that you need to talk loudly or even shout when friends are at an arm’s length away, it’s probably hurting your hearing.
Immediate Actions
- Move away from loud sounds or speakers.
- When you see one coming, get away from the noise if you can (for example, by rolling up your car windows).
Safe Listening Habits
- Turn down the volume when listening to music or watching TV.
- Keep volume low. Keep noise levels on your devices, such as TV, radio and home sound systems at a comfortable level. If you think it’s too loud and you can hear it from another room, it probably is.
- While you are watching TV or using mobile devices, keep the volume at a comfortable level.
- When wearing earphones or earbuds, you should be able to hear conversations around you.
- Take breaks after listening to music with headphones or earbuds for more than 1 hour at a time.
- Give your ears a break. Give your ears periodic breaks from headphones and other loud noises to reduce your exposure.
- Give ears time to heal. If you’ve been exposed to loud noises, try to spend some time in a quiet environment for at least a day to give your ears time to rest and recover.
Hearing Protection
If you can’t avoid loud noises, wear proper protection. Using hearing protection, such as earplugs or earmuffs, will help filter extreme noises and reduce your risk of hearing loss.
- When you are in a noisy environment, wear protective hearing gear such as earplugs or protective earphones. You likely can find ear plugs at your local drugstore or music supply shop, but you can also ask your audiologist for more information.
- For people who are regularly exposed to noise, your audiologist may recommend custom ear plugs.
- If you often listen to music on earphones using a portable music or video device, it’s a good idea to have custom earphone molds made. There are relatively inexpensive custom ear molds that conform to the unique shape of your ear canal and attach to the earphone’s wires. A variety of custom ear molds are available for use with earphones, while others are designed for musicians and people who are exposed to noise.
- Wear ear plugs at concerts or if you play in a band.
- Wear ear plugs or ear muffs when mowing the lawn, using power tools, or anytime you are around loud machinery.
- Fireworks are a summer favorite, but they can seriously hurt your hearing. To protect your ears, wear earplugs and make sure you’re a safe distance away from where the fireworks are being set off.
Protect Your Hearing (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Other Important Health Practices
- Keep up on immunizations. Some illnesses, such as measles, mumps, whooping cough and bacterial infections, can negatively affect your hearing. Stay up to date with your vaccinations.
- Don’t put anything in your ears. Do not put anything in your ears, including cotton swabs, which can injure the ear canal or eardrum. Instead, clean your ears with a washcloth over your finger. If you have a buildup of earwax that is affecting your hearing, contact your provider to get it removed.
Understanding Safe Noise Levels
For one, protect your hearing by knowing what a "safe" noise level is. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, any sound below 70 A-weighted decibels (dBA) is safe. A normal conversation between friends is likely between 60-70 dBA. Even lawn mowers, movie theaters, motorcycles and sporting events can reach levels over 100 decibels.
| Noise Level (dBA) | Safety | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Below 70 | Safe | Snack on! This level of noise is safe for your ears. |
| 85 and above | Potentially Harmful | Chat away! This level of noise can make you lose some of your hearing, so be sure to wear hearing protection. To protect your ears, try to sit farther away from the speakers, and put in a pair of earplugs. To protect your hearing, turn it down to a lower volume. |
Regular Hearing Tests
Most adults have never had a hearing test, but it pays to buck that trend. While there is no set hearing screening schedule, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recommends annual hearing tests for adults beginning at age 60 or those at risk for hearing loss, such as people who work in noisy environments. If you’re experiencing no symptoms, you should get your hearing tested once per year. At your next annual physical, ask for a hearing test as part of your routine checkup.
Make an appointment with your primary care doctor or audiologist (hearing specialist) if you experience any amount of hearing loss. If you’re concerned about hearing loss, talk to your healthcare provider.
Otolaryngologists, also called ear, nose, and throat doctors (or ENTs), and audiologists can treat hearing loss. If you experience sudden hearing loss, see your doctor right away. If you’re experiencing hearing loss, you’re not alone. Connect with your doctor to stay on top of your hearing health, and get a yearly hearing test.