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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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EFFECTS OF
NOISE
ON HEARING
Someone once said that one person’ s definition of noise is another person’ s description of music. In short, one person’ s music is another person’ s noise. In either perception of noise, the effects include a masking of speech sounds, which makes it difficult to understand the spoken word. If someone has a hearing loss, the noisy background is doubly worse because the consonants are not heard clearly. The consonants carry the intelligibility of the English language and those speech sounds are adversely affected in the presence of loud background noise.
A review of how we hear will help to explain the effects of noise on the ear and hearing. First, sound waves from a noisy source enter the ear canal and cause the eardrum to vibrate. Vibrations pass through three connected bones in the middle ear. The inner ear is fluid-filled and receives these vibrations, which sets fluid moving in the inner ear. The moving fluid bends thousands of delicate hair-like cells, which convert the vibrations into nerve impulses that are carried to the brain by the auditory nerve. In the brain, these impulses are converted into what we hear as sound( speech, music or noise).
When hearing loss occurs due to noise, the hair-like cells inside the inner ear are damaged and cannot convert the sound vibrations wholly into nerve impulses. The distorted consonants that reach the brain are heard but not perceived clearly. The hair-like cells are not replaceable parts so when they are damaged beyond repair, permanent hearing loss occurs.
How loud is too loud is a question that can be best answered by knowing something about dangerous decibels. Any noise louder than 85 decibels is a potential hazard to your hearing. The louder the sound, the faster it causes harm. Some examples are as follows:
NOISE LEVEL
SOURCE IN DECIBELS SAFE EXPOSURE
Gunshot.......................... 140........... none Jackhammer..................... 130........... 3.8 minutes Rock Concert..................... 120........... 7.5 minutes Power Drill....................... 100........... 2 hours Lawn Mower..................... 90............ 8 hours Vacuum Cleaner.................. 80............ no limit
There are practical steps you can take to protect the inner ear from excessive noise, namely earplugs or earmuffs. The important thing is not the brand of earplug as much as the proper and consistent use of hearing protection devices. When you are not sure whether to bother with the plugs, take a simple test: If you have to shout to be heard when you’ re three feet from someone, it’ s time to put them in.
Audiometric testing determines how much hearing loss is present due to excessive noise exposure. If the hearing loss damage is not medically or surgically correctable, then amplification may be the treatment of choice. Southwestern Hearing Care under Dr. Roger Angelelli, Licensed Audiologist, can provide the necessary amplification to improve the clarity and audibility that was taken away by one of the major causes of hearing loss.
This Industry Insight was written by Roger M. Angelelli.
Roger M. Angelelli, Ph. D. licensed Pennsylvania Audiologist, received his Ph. D. in audiology from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Angelelli is also a course director for CAOHC( council for accreditation in occupational hearing conservation) and teaches( 4) CAOHC workshop courses, annually. Dr. Angelelli has also been a dispenser of hearing aids since 1980 at Southwestern Hearing Care, Inc.
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