Every time you listen to music, speak to a loved one, meet someone new or watch TV, you can be fairly sure that your ears are working. When everything is going right, it is easy to forget about your ears and focus on other, more important things, like jamming with the band that’s performing, or watching the Jets fly down the ice in the third period from rink side seats. When things are working, it’s easy to overlook their importance.
The leading cause of hearing loss is due to exposure to excessive noise for extended amounts of time, it’s a fact of life that creeps up over time and by the time you notice that your hearing just isn’t the same, it’s too late – noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is unfortunately a permanent condition that can’t be undone.
Governmental guidelines state that excessive exposure to noise above 80 dBA Lex can result in NIHL. That’s about as loud as regular city traffic and can be sustained for a maximum of 8 hours. It is an easy and useful tool for employees, with regards to NIHL, to consider that operating an electric drill for 1 hour is 95 dBA.
More information about dBA levels and audiometric testing can be found here.
What is Tinnitus?
If you’ve ever seen the movie Baby Driver, you’ll be familiar with tinnitus.
If you aren’t, tinnitus is the ringing or humming sound that you experience in either one, or both, of your ears. Nearly 10-20% of all people experience tinnitus,1 but it can be a chronic condition frustrating to deal with – especially when its subjective; no one else can hear it.
What are the common causes of Tinnitus?
Hypertension, temporal mandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, head/neck injuries and ear infections are some of the common causes of Tinnitus. The chief cause of chronic tinnitus is NIHL.
What happens in Tinnitus?
In the inner ear, there are many delicate hairs that vibrate when you hear noises, and their job is to help transmit the sound waves into electrical signals that travel across the auditory nerve and connect to the brain where they are interpreted as sound. If these hairs get bent or broken (usually caused by aging or exposure to loud noise), they can “accidentally” send random electrical impulses to the brain, causing you to hear ringing that isn’t there. Sometimes, rather than tinnitus being a symptom of hearing loss, the ringing can induce it. When auditory nerves become chronically excited (they’re always active), they become strained and force the brain into over-listening for noises that aren’t there – stressing out those delicate hairs.2
If you have ever had tinnitus, or know anyone who does, you’ll understand the annoyance and would much rather ignore it. Unfortunately for some, the ringing can be so loud and aggravating that it causes daily disruptions and focusing on anything becomes a chore. It’s obvious why many psychological effects would come up when faced with being irritated and being unable to fix it.
In fact, 45% of people with tinnitus have had an anxiety disorder at some point in their life.3
Is there a treatment for tinnitus?
Currently, there are no effective medications or supplements that treat tinnitus, and many people suffer for life.4 Some people opt for hearing aids, but for most, the treatment is only focused on managing the stress that comes with this frustrating symptom.
The best way to mitigate this, is through preventative measures. Government organizations set regulations to ensure that employees who follow hearing loss prevention programs will have minimal risk to permanent damage to their hearing.
Learn about IA’s Hearing Conservation Program
Taking care of our hearing is a critical part of our health, and, as Ben Franklin said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
