Planes, Trains, and Music: Noise Induced Hearing Loss

Teenagers are not the only ones that like loud music or that attends concerts, but they seem to be in the majority where this issue is concerned. However, loud music is not the only cause for concern when hearing is addressed. Noise induced hearing loss can be caused by many different types of noises, and some of these noises most people would not even really think about. It is these kinds of noises that often cause the most problems with noise induced hearing loss, simply because they are not thought of much and therefore not seen to be that important or significant when it comes to protecting people from them so that these individuals do not suffer a noise induced hearing loss.

Many People Do Not Realize That They Are Damaging Their Hearing

Music will be addressed in another section, but there are so many other ways that noise induced hearing loss can take place. Playing the television too loud can cause hearing loss, as can the noise from automobiles, trains, and the jet engines that are found on airplanes. Most people say that they are not around these things that much and this may be true, but what about the train conductor, the man riding a motorcycle in traffic every morning, or the individual standing on the tarmac and directing the 747 so that the pilot knows how to taxi to his gate? These individuals are prime candidates for noise induced hearing loss simply because of the nature of their jobs or commutes. That are exposed to noise pollution on a daily basis, and this can damage their hearing over time, resulting in a noise induced hearing loss when they are older. While this can be treated with hearing aids, these devices are expensive and many people do not like to wear them because they remind these people that they are getting older.

Young People Are Harming Their Ears

People with loud jobs are not the only people that are at risk for noise induced hearing loss, however. An entire nation of young people are putting themselves at risk every day by climbing behind the wheels of their cars and raising the volume on their stereos beyond reasonable limits, often with the windows left up. They often do not think anything of this, because it is ‘cool’ and it is what young people do, but these young people will be middle aged people and then elderly people some day, and when this happens many of them will require hearing aids based on the noise induced hearing loss that they have suffered from the loud music in their cars and the concerts that they have attended. Lowering the volume of the car stereo system and wearing ear plugs when attending concerts are easy ways to protect against noise induced hearing loss.