Our Valley Santa Clarita July/August 2016 | Page 25
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Q: How can I tell if my hearing
has been affected by noise?
A: Hearing loss has become
the third most common health
problem in the nation. This
increase comes, in part, from
noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
NIHL can happen to anyone at any
age, and can happen anywhere
there are loud noises. Despite
this growing problem, there is
little national attention and many
people still don’t understand how
to avoid or prevent damage, or
even how to recognize subtle
changes in hearing.
Inside the ear are small, delicate
hairs that help conduct the noise
that constitutes a large part of
your hearing. Injury to these hair
cells comes from exposure —
sudden or prolonged — to loud
noises. Noise can damage hearing
if the decibels (dB) are too high, if
it is too close to your ears, or if it
is heard for long periods of time.
This can result in temporary or
permanent hearing loss.
If you think you’ve already
experienced dangerous sound
levels and want to find out if you
have hearing damage, you should
visit a hearing specialist — an
audiologist. Hearing loss should
be found and dealt with before
it spirals into other issues like
depression and brain atrophy.
As a simple test to tell if your
hearing has been affected, think
about how your ears react to
situations with loud noise. If
there is pain, a feeling of having
your ears temporarily blocked,
the need to shout in order to be
heard, or a temporary buzzing
or ringing, chances are you have
experienced some damage to
your hearing.
If you have questions about
hearing more clearly, contact
our hearing experts at Nola
Aronson’s Advanced Audiology,
661-505-1135. If you have
questions you’d like to “Ask
the Audiologist”, please email
Nola@scvadvancedaudiology.
com