Importance of Dedicated Hearing Care
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By: admin | October 22, 2018
You probably use your tablet or smartphone often to stream music, TV shows, or movies. In fact, many websites these days auto-play videos regardless of whether you want them to.
Smartphones, tablets, and other types of portable music players (PMPs) are now commonplace, as are earbuds and headphones. But if your PMP is turned up too loud while wearing earbuds or headphones, you can damage your hearing quickly. Let's look at why.
This isn't some new sports league — NIHL stands for noise-induced hearing loss, and it's the second-largest cause of hearing loss worldwide. You're able to hear because of hair cells in your inner ear. These cells convert sound signals to electrical signals and send them to your brain, where they're interpreted as sounds. But loud sounds can actually damage or destroy your hair cells. Every time a hair cell gets damaged, you lose a little bit of your ability to hear, and that damage can't be repaired. The result is NIHL.
Navigating noise is all about the decibels (a measure of sound pressure). You're safe if the sound in question stays below 85 decibels (dB); above that, you're in the action zone — protect your ears or risk hearing damage. For comparison:
Some PMPs can generate 112 dB — in other words, if you like to listen to your PMP at full volume, you're likely pumping a chain saw's worth of noise at your ears from centimeters away.
Hearing loss is connected to overall health in surprising ways. It's been linked to depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, dementia, and other health concerns. But it's not just a concern for later in life: One study found that any degree of hearing loss early in life increases a child's risk for language and learning problems. Considering that one study of PMP use in 9-to 11-year-olds reported that 9 in 10 children and teens use some form of audio-streaming device for education or recreation, PMPs pose a considerable hearing health risk at all ages. Indeed, that same study found that 14 percent of the children had measurable hearing loss. In addition, if a child listened to their PMP only once or twice a week, it doubled their chances of hearing loss compared to children who didn't use a PMP.
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