Scottish Daily Mail

CAN CHILDREN WRECK YOUR HEARING?

Few realise, but there’s a daily maximum of noise we can endure before it harms our ears. So from a mum of three to a DIY fan, who’s most at risk?

- By DIANA PILKINGTON

AMBULANCE sirens, car horns, roadworks... our l i ves are surrounded by noise. But few of us ever stop to wonder about the effect of this barrage of sound — and experts warn we should. Excessive noise is known to raise the risk of hearing loss and can also trigger stress in the body that’s linked to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

The problem is twofold: the loudness of noise and the length of time we are exposed to it. So how much is too much? Noise is measured in decibels. The maximum daily safe level at work is equivalent to 85 decibels — or about as loud as an electric shaver — for eight hours. ‘Individual susceptibi­lity varies, but it’s thought that about 20 per cent of us will suffer hearing damage if we are regularly exposed to noise above these levels,’ explains Dr Bradford Backus, an honorary senior research fellow at the Ear Institute at University College London.

And the louder the noise, the quicker you hit your maximum safe daily ‘dose’. For example, 88 decibels (roughly the level of a food blender) is safe for four hours, 91 decibels (a hairdryer) for two hours, 94 (an electric drill) for an hour, and 103 (a jet flying over you at 1,000ft) for just seven and a half minutes.

According to the regulation­s, peaks must never exceed 140 decibels in the workplace.

It’s not just loudness that makes it damaging — it’s the pitch, too, with ears more sensitive to higher pitches (think babies’ shrieks, or the whine of a dentist’s drill).

But what is also significan­t is the total daily amount we’re exposed to. So just as we monitor our total daily calorie intake, experts say we should be wary of the cumulative effect of noise.

‘If you have several fairly noisy activities in a day, when you add them together you could exceed your safe dose (the equivalent of 85 decibels over eight hours)’ says Dr Backus. ‘It may be hard to tell without actually measuring the noise levels around you, but if you feel more tired than usual or are craving some quiet time, it could be a sign you’ve been over-exposed to noise.’

Most noise-induced hearing loss is thought to occur when loud noises damage or kill tiny hair cells in the inner ear. These cells convert sound waves into electrical signals and send them along the auditory nerve to the brain, where they are perceived as sound.

Sometimes damage is temporary — your hearing may be worse a day or so after a very loud concert say, but improves as the hair cells recover.

‘But if you are exposed to too many loud peaks of noise or exceed the safe cumulative daily dose too often, your hair cells may gradually be killed off,’ says Dr Backus.

‘You may not notice it until one day you realise you can’t hear so well.’

To find out what this all means in practical terms, five volunteers — including me — wore noise level monitors and kept a ‘noise diary’ for a day.

The noise level monitor, known as Sound-Badge, is a device like a fob watch, worn on the shoulder.

Dr Backus, the managing director of Audio 3, which produces the device, helped analyse the results. To get an idea of how loud your own life is, several mobile phone apps measure noise levels, although they are unlikely to track the cumulative noise dose.

THE STAY-ATHOME MOTHER

Maria Eleftherio­u, 39, from Barnet, london, has a six-year-old son, andre, and twins Nico and Natalie, two. MARIA’S day involved taking her children to craft sessions in a church hall, to a swimming pool and to a football class. ‘It was a fairly typical day for me, as my children do lots of activities,’ she says.

‘They are quite noisy — my eldest son had a piercing cry as a baby, and my daughter has, too. My husband often says I have the TV too loud — I hope I’m not doing long-term damage!

RESULTS

Daily sound dose: 42 per cent over the safe limit Loudest sound heard: 119 decibels, during story time at home, when there was some ‘ crying, screaming and laughing’ from the twins Average sound level across the day: 84 decibels

EXPERT ANALYSIS

MARIA’S noise levels were more balanced than other people’s, with fairly noisy things happening throughout the day, rather than racking up her entire limit in one period, says Dr Backus.

She spent 30 minutes at the pool during the children’s swimming lesson, and received 30 per cent of her safe daily noise dose, with the noise averaging 91 decibels. ‘Pools are very reverberan­t — every hard, flat surface contribute­s to the reverberat­ion, as does water,’ says Dr Backus. ‘It doesn’t take many people to make it loud, so I would be concerned about those who work or go there a lot.’ Ear plugs — such as the type swimmers use to block water — would be a good idea to protect Maria’s hearing.

As for the sounds of young children shouting and crying, babies can cry at around 110 decibels, and may be more damaging than other types of 110 decibel sound, as Dr Backus explains. ‘Babies tend to cry at a particular­ly piercing pitch, measured as 2-4 kiloherz — where our ears are more sensitive — which could potentiall­y do more damage to our hearing than other frequencie­s.’

But what might be harmful for one person may not damage another, even with such high decibels — and being female may be protective, he says.

‘Women tend to have less age-related hearing loss, and possibly less noiseinduc­ed hearing loss than men. Whether it’s down to evolution enabling women to tend to their children is hard to say.’

However, there are still steps Maria can take to protect her hearing. ‘When carrying young children, position them with their mouths away from your ear. And it’s sensible to ensure there aren’t too many noisy activities each day, so ears can recover after a battering.’

THE DIY ENTHUSIAST

MIKE WERTHEIM, 58, a launderett­e engineer who also runs two launderett­es, lives in Whitefield, Manchester. MIKE spent the day doing some admin at one of his launderett­es; he also did some DIY, using a circular saw and a battery- operated drill while putting shelves up for his son-in-law.

‘I’ve done DIY since I was 15; generally I use power tools once a month for about five minutes at a time,’ says Mike.

‘I don’t think it’s enough to damage my hearing so I don’t wear ear protection. I’ve used hearing aids for six months, but I only do it to pacify my family, who complain that I can’t hear them at big family meals. My father had some hearing loss, so maybe it is genetic.’

RESULTS

Daily sound dose: 41 per cent over the safe limit Loudest sound heard: 114 decibels, using a circular saw Average sound level across the day: 85.6 decibels

EXPERT ANALYSIS

If Mike hadn’t used power tools, he would not have gone over his limit, says Dr Backus. The machines at his launderett­es, for example didn’t really register on the monitor. ‘If you exclude the 40 minutes of DIY, he would be at about 73 per cent of his safe dose for the day.’

But Dr Backus says to always wear ear protection if you use loud power tools — and even when using a hammer. ‘Hammering can reach 130 decibels. It may be short bursts but it can be damaging as a one-off, potentiall­y killing hearing cells.’

Mike drove on the motorway for 30 minutes with a window open but no music — averaging 88 decibels. ‘If driving slowly, opening the window is fine, but on the motorway it’s wise to shut it because of noise from the wind and traffic,’ says Dr Backus.

THE AMATEUR MUSICIAN

Caroline Whately-Smith, 58, is an independen­t statistici­an from King’s langley, hertfordsh­ire.

As well as working at her desk, her day involved vacuuming, cycling to the dentist — where she had a filling — walking her dog Merlot along roads close to the M25 and a railway, and an accordion lesson.

she also had a work dinner in a nearby restaurant.

‘It wasn’t a typical day as I usually spend longer working, but I was shocked at how loud the restaurant was,’ says Caroline. ‘I could only hear the person next to me. I don’t really have hearing problems, but do

struggle in these environmen­ts, with lots of people t al ki ng. I’d be quite concerned about people working there.’

RESULTS Daily sound dose: 17 per cent over the safe limit Loudest sound heard: 108.4 decibels — the noise in t he restaurant Average sound level across the day: 83.8 decibels

EXPERT ANALYSIS

CArolIne’s three hours in the restaurant were solely responsibl­e for her topping the safe noise limit, despite there being no background music. ‘restaurant­s can be surprising­ly noisy,’ says Dr Backus.

‘often there are no soft furnishing­s — such as curtains and carpets — to absorb sound. It could potentiall­y damage the staff ’s hearing.’ An enclosed booth can help, as it’s less reverberan­t, says Dr Backus.

‘And — it sounds silly — but if everyone in your party wore a woolly jumper it could mean less reflected sound, too.’ The rest of Caroline’s day was relatively quiet. The dentist’s drill peaked at 90 decibels, but it was only for a few minutes.

However, Dr Backus warns: ‘Dentists’ drills may not seem very loud, but they are usually a single pitch. Different areas of the inner ear deal with different pitches, so, with a dentist’s drill, all the acoustic energy is concentrat­ed in just one part, which could do more damage than having it spread out.

‘It’s also a frequency (like babies’ crying) that h u mans are particular­ly sensitive to, so we find it grating and it’ s possibly more damaging.’

Visiting the dentist twice a year shouldn’t be a problem — but your dentist may be at more risk.

Caroline’s 25-minute accordion l esson also peaked at about 90 decibels.

However, Dr Backus s ays: ‘research suggests if you produce the noise yourself, by speaking or playing an instrument i t can activate s o me protective mechanisms in your ear, because you know it’s coming.’

Muscles in the ear tense and stop hearing bones moving as much as normal. And cells in the ear that help amplify sounds may be turned down as part of our body’s protective mechanism.

And Caroline’s dog walk averaged just 75 decibels.

‘Unless you’re walking right on the edge of a motorway, being close to a busy road may be annoying rather than damaging,’ says Dr Backus. ‘Dogs can bark at about 90 decibels, but it’s unlikely to be a problem unless they yap continuall­y. If they do, take them for a walk outside, where there’s no reverberat­ion.’

GARDENER UNDER A FLIGHT PATH

Phil JaCKSon, 64, is a retired aircraft pilot and lives in Wraysbury, Berkshire. PHIl did some gardening while planes passed overhead (he lives under Heathrow’s flight path), visited a garden centre, mowed the lawn and looked after his baby granddaugh­ter Beatrix.

‘some people find aircraft noise a nuisance, but I enjoy watching the planes,’ says Phil.

‘I haven’t had my hearing tested since I stopped flying aged 55 ( previous tests showed some trouble with high frequencie­s in my right ear, but not enough to

 ?? Pictures: CHRIS WINTER ??
Pictures: CHRIS WINTER

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