Truth Or Myth: Brief Exposure To Loud Music Can Cause Hearing Loss!
Does music act as your drug and you sincerely believe in turning up the volume, closing your eyes, and letting the music take over your soul? If you said 'yes', then you might have also come across some free advice on not listening to loud music.
The constant advice on how loud music can impair hearing can be annoying. But does loud music really lead to hearing loss or is it just a myth?
It is True!
The National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) explains - "Listening to loud music, even for a brief time, or for long hours can damage the sensitive inner ear structures and lead to temporary or permanent loss of auditory function. This is known as a Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL)". NIHL is common among professional musicians who are exposed to loud music most of their lives. Alarmingly, NIHL is being increasingly diagnosed in adolescents these days.
We enjoy loud music in discotheques, gyms, and on our personal music players. Persistent high-intensity sounds can cause mechanical shearing of the delicate inner ear, causing loss of certain high-frequency sounds. It is proven that exposure to sounds above 85 dB is unsafe. Thus, listening to loud sounds that go beyond the 85dB regularly can result in a hazardous condition like permanent hearing loss.
NIHL is easily preventable. Just exercise safe listening and keep the volume of your speakers low. If the person sitting next to you can hear sounds from the headphones you are using, you need to know that the volume is too high. Use earplugs at a concert or other places with high-intensity sound.
Remember, a little hearing loss you may experience today might increase with time or aging, and may cause problems in future.
For any query related to ear function and hearing, you can consult an Otolaryngologist/ENT specialist at www.healthcaremagic.com
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