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How Noise
Affects Hearing
Your ears are very sensitive to the
presence of sound. An infant can hear sound ranging from the
frequencies of 20Hz to 20,000Hz. Unfortunately, throughout our lifetime
we are exposed to a variety of factors which cause hearing sensitivity
to be reduced. One primary cause of reduced hearing levels is exposure
to loud noise.
Everyone has a different definition
of what a loud sound is. OSHA regulations state that exposure to noise
above the level of 90 decibels may damage your hearing.
Damage to your hearing usually
occurs very gradually. Noise exposure that you experience today, may
not show up on your hearing test for 5 to 10 years. When that damage
does become apparent, a decrease in hearing will become noticeable to
you. Hearing loss due to noise exposure usually occurs in the
"treble" frequencies first. These are the frequencies which
contain the consonant sounds of our language. This means that you have
to play "fill in the blanks". The sentence, "The cat sat
on the sofa" becomes, "The -a- -a- on the -o-a".
There are some warning signs that
damage to your hearing has occured. When you have been to a special
event, like a concert or an auto race, and feel that your hearing seems
muffled, you are experiencing a "temporary hearing shift".
Although hearing usually seems to return to normal after several hours,
temporary losses do add up to become permanent losses. Also, a
"ringing" or "buzzing" sound in your ears after
exposure to loud noise indicates that the cillia have been damaged.
When you have a hearing loss, the
effort of listening becomes much more stressful. This effort causes
some people to experience anxiety or even high blood pressure. Often,
people with hearing loss will withdraw from social activities. They may
feel isolated or even depressed as a result of their hearing loss.
AUDIOLOGY SPECIALISTS, LLC
211 South Main Street
Laconia, New Hampshire 03246
(603)528-7700
(800)682-2338
info@audiologyspecialists.com
©Copyright 2005 Audiology
Specialists, LLC - All Rights Reserved
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