Noise-induced Hearing Loss Could be Affecting you and your Children
How many dangerous things do you do a day? Most people would answer not many. We go about our day most of us having pretty boring routines. We may drive our kids to school, go to work, come home and watch television and go to bed. Occasionally we might break the routine with fun activities, exercise, movies, and holiday celebrations. What most people don't think about is that they are putting themselves in danger of noise-induced hearing loss.
Putting yourself at risk is much easier than you think. Hearing loss due to exposure to loud noises is the second most common type of hearing loss. If you mow your lawn with a gas lawn mower after an hour you are damaging your hearing. If your family ever partakes in recreational shooting or riding motorbikes it's also doing damage. Fun events like concerts or watching a fireworks display could do irreversible damage in minutes!
Teens today are exposing themselves daily to decibels higher than they should be for longer periods of time. Many studies have found that mp3 players over the years have increased the percentage of teens with hearing loss. One study has even linked 70 percent of increased hearing loss among children to personal listening devices. Does this mean we should be taking our children's music away from them? Of course not. What you can do to prevent your children from needing hearing aids in the future is as simple as educating them on how to use it. Make sure that they aren't listening to their headphones on its full volume. Also get them to take a break. Even when not on full volume listening to ones iPod or mp3 player for hours on end can have a negative effect.
How do you know when you are experiencing something that could lead to hearing loss? There are a few simple ways to tell. One way is that ringing in your ears you may have experienced before. If ringing has occurred it means that some damage has been done. Simply avoid that situation or pack ear plugs for you and your children to wear. You can still go on your motorbike or go to fireworks on the 4th of July, just remember to protect yourself and your children. If you need to shout to hear yourself or if the person you are speaking with needs to shout, you are also putting your hearing at risk.
For younger children even certain toys over 90 decibels can harm your child's hearing over time. A way to deal with this is to listen to the toys before you allow them to play with them. You can still purchase a ‘loud' toy, but perhaps limit the amount of time you allow the child to play or disable the sound over time or tape over the speaker to muffle it.
How do you know if the damage has already been done? Many people have minor hearing problems. What you can do to make sure is get regular hearing exams. Your children most likely have yearly hearing tests in school but you should still get them as you get older. Hearing loss is irreversible but knowing damage has been done could prevent you from needing a hearing aid.
What if you or someone in your family needs a hearing aid? Hearing aids do not need to carry the same stigma they did before. Now they are made to fit comfortably in the air and without being seen. New technologies are constantly being developed to make wearing a hearing aid the most natural thing you could do!
Putting yourself at risk is much easier than you think. Hearing loss due to exposure to loud noises is the second most common type of hearing loss. If you mow your lawn with a gas lawn mower after an hour you are damaging your hearing. If your family ever partakes in recreational shooting or riding motorbikes it's also doing damage. Fun events like concerts or watching a fireworks display could do irreversible damage in minutes!
Teens today are exposing themselves daily to decibels higher than they should be for longer periods of time. Many studies have found that mp3 players over the years have increased the percentage of teens with hearing loss. One study has even linked 70 percent of increased hearing loss among children to personal listening devices. Does this mean we should be taking our children's music away from them? Of course not. What you can do to prevent your children from needing hearing aids in the future is as simple as educating them on how to use it. Make sure that they aren't listening to their headphones on its full volume. Also get them to take a break. Even when not on full volume listening to ones iPod or mp3 player for hours on end can have a negative effect.
How do you know when you are experiencing something that could lead to hearing loss? There are a few simple ways to tell. One way is that ringing in your ears you may have experienced before. If ringing has occurred it means that some damage has been done. Simply avoid that situation or pack ear plugs for you and your children to wear. You can still go on your motorbike or go to fireworks on the 4th of July, just remember to protect yourself and your children. If you need to shout to hear yourself or if the person you are speaking with needs to shout, you are also putting your hearing at risk.
For younger children even certain toys over 90 decibels can harm your child's hearing over time. A way to deal with this is to listen to the toys before you allow them to play with them. You can still purchase a ‘loud' toy, but perhaps limit the amount of time you allow the child to play or disable the sound over time or tape over the speaker to muffle it.
How do you know if the damage has already been done? Many people have minor hearing problems. What you can do to make sure is get regular hearing exams. Your children most likely have yearly hearing tests in school but you should still get them as you get older. Hearing loss is irreversible but knowing damage has been done could prevent you from needing a hearing aid.
What if you or someone in your family needs a hearing aid? Hearing aids do not need to carry the same stigma they did before. Now they are made to fit comfortably in the air and without being seen. New technologies are constantly being developed to make wearing a hearing aid the most natural thing you could do!
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