Tips To Protect Yourself Against Noise Induced Hearing Loss!

Protecting your ears is important to maintain the audibility of these hearing organs. Loss of hearing is a very painful experience and it can hamper your daily activities to a huge extent. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) once reported that around 26 million people between the ages of 19 and 70 have experienced a noise-induced hearing loss.

The World Health Organization (WHO) published a report warning that 1.1 billion teens are on the verge of going deaf due to noise=induced hearing loss. The reason for such a high number of affected demographic is mainly due to certain risk factors that have made themselves quite prominent in the recent years. One such factor is the use of headphones or earphones, especially the in-ear headphones.

There are a number of ways an individual can protect him/herself from noise-induced hearing loss. Here are some effective tips:

• Educate teens and young people on the importance of good hearing: Communicate with your kids or educate yourself on the benefits of good hearing. Print out pamphlets and information brochures on the importance of good hearing and impart that knowledge to your kids or learn yourself.
• Do not maximize the volume of your head/earphones: While listening to music make sure that the volume of your headphone is such that you are able to hear what is going on around you while enjoying the music. It is advised that you ditch the in-ear headphones that are quite popular right now. Rather go for the noise canceling headphones as you won’t have to spike up the volume to cut out the outside noise. You can enjoy the music, without any outside noise, at low volume.
• Volume is everything: Whether you are listening to TV, radio or music on your phone, always keep the volume at an average level. There is no need to turn it up in order to get every little detail of what is being said or sung. In case of TV, turn on the captions rather than the volume and in case of the music, get a pair of the noise canceling headphones.
• Don’t let anyone shout in your ear: It is a common activity of fun among children to shout or coo loudly into the ear of other children. This can lead to massive ear damage and a loss of hearing as well. Teach your child to not let anyone near their ear or not to do such activities into someone else’s ear.
• Loud noises are poison: Stay away from loud noises as a general rule. You can also use earplugs to save your ear from the noise of loudspeakers or such things and as a result, protect your ears from any noise-induced hearing loss.