What Causes Hearing Loss: Noise Or Age?

There is no speculation that as we grow older, we may begin to suffer gradual hearing loss. It usually happens after the age of 60. It is called presbycusis. But as it turns out, exposure to noise is the main culprit that causes hearing loss early on in life, and worsens it in our later years. Even a large percentage of school children have already suffered permanent hearing loss—from in-ear music devices to watching television at loud volumes. Some other causes of hearing loss may be due to: wax blockage, ear infections, head trauma, ototoxic medications, or certain illnesses like meningitis, measles, mumps, diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure. Hearing loss can also be congenital, present at birth.

What can you do to protect your hearing, as well as that of your family?

• Be aware of your surroundings – it can be easy to minimize noise in your own home, but not so much in public, where you might come across landscapers or construction crews using loud equipment, car alarms, loud concert venues, etc.
• Noise Exposure – try to keep exposure to loud noises to a minimum. Both the volume and the length of time you are exposed to noise can cause damage to your ears.
• Ear Protection – carry small earplugs with you. They are designed to enable you to hear people close to you while drowning out loud background noise.
• Portable MP3 players – When using headphones, keep the volume at a reasonable level so as to mitigate the potential damage to your ears.
• Earbuds vs. earphones – earphones will not make as much of a direct impact to your ears as earbuds, but noise cancelling headphones are the best option.
• Children’s Toys – be wary of giving toys to your children that make loud sounds. Prolonged exposure to these sounds can start to damage your child’s hearing at a very young age.

Call the hearing specialists at Bravo Hearing at 416-207-9711 and get your hearing loss related questions answered!