Hearing Protection: What You Need to Know
Excess noise exposure is one of the most common and preventable causes of hearing loss. Learning about the dangers and taking protective steps can help preserve one of your most precious senses.
Noise levels from concerts, sporting events, firearms, power tools, and even some animals can lead to irreparably damaged hearing. At times, the levels can reach 105 decibels or higher — well past the danger threshold of 85 decibels — putting your hearing at risk.
Going without hearing protection in the face of harmful noise levels is likely to create problems down the road, when the damaging effects on the delicate hair cells of the cochlea — the innerear organ that relays sound signals to the brain — begin to surface.
Repeated noise exposure early in life can be compounded as you get older. Hearing damage during teen years may not surface until your 20s, 30s, or later, when age-related deterioration of hearing can become a greater factor.
Protecting your hearing is important, as hearing loss is connected to a number of other serious conditions, including depression; anxiety; social isolation; falls; and dementia, which can affect thinking memory, and more.
Hearing protection works by dampening the piercing sounds while letting you experience the sounds you want to hear clearly. At Center for Audiology Services, we offer effective hearing protection that’s customized to the contours of your ear for a snug, comfortable fit.