Listen Up! Sound advice for your home

Be on the lookout for loud situations and proceed with caution to protect your ears, writes Paula Goodyer.

When you injure yourself it usually hurts, but when your hearing is damaged you may not feel a thing. It can happen when loud noise damages the delicate hair cells in the inner ear that send sound signals to the brain. Over time, loud sounds can batter these cells so badly that they no longer transmit sound.

That’s how preventable hearing loss can start, and not just in older people. “Increasing numbers of 20 to 60 year olds are acquiring preventable hearing loss and/or tinnitus – the buzzing, roaring, ringing or hissing sound that can occur in one or both ears after listening to loud sound, and which may mean a hearing injury,” says Professor Robert Cowan, CEO of Melbourne’s Hearing Cooperative Research Centre.

How loud is too loud? If you need to shout at someone who’s only a metre away in order to be heard, that means the sound level around you is potentially damaging. And if you’re listening to a personal music player through headphones and can’t hear traffic noise or people around you, the volume is probably too high.

Sound is measured in decibels; anything below 85 decibels is unlikely to cause problems. Normal speech is around 64. The trouble starts with long or repeated exposure to noise of 85 decibels or more (for example, a drill or loud music at the gym). Clubs and rock concerts can also deliver loud sound, along with personal music players.

“Our research in live music venues shows that 15 per cent of 18 to 35 year olds are at risk of hearing loss, and people listening to music through earphones on public transport can be exposed to sound as high as 90 decibels or more,” says Professor Cowan.

“The solution is to be as serious about sound protection as we are about sun protection,” he adds. “Avoid sound when it’s too intense and don’t expose yourself to it for too long or too often.”

Just as we use sunscreen to protect our skin from too much UV light, we can defend our hearing from damage with a range of barriers: earmuffs when mowing the lawn or using power tools; filtered earplugs at concerts; and noise-cancelling earbuds or earphones.

“If you can shield your hearing from excessively loud sound when younger,” says Professor Cowan, “the better your hearing is likely to be when you’re older.”

‘If you can shield your hearing from excessively loud sound when younger, the better your hearing is likely to be when you’re older.’ PROFESSOR ROBERT COWAN

This may also help our ageing brains; some studies have shown an association between hearing loss and the rate of cognitive decline. The reason isn’t clear, but may have something to do with the social isolation that can come with hearing loss. #

For more information on protecting your hearing, go to hearsmart.org.