When many people think of hearing loss, they have visions of old age. The truth of the matter is hearing loss can happen regardless of your age group. In today's society, there is an increasing number of ways that you can damage the inner working of your ear without realizing. Your activities can directly affect your senses and you could damage yourself beyond repair and conventional healing. What situations could put your ability to listen in jeopardy?
Video Games
Millions of gamers around the globe adorn their headsets before leaping into player-versus-player combat. Unfortunately, many of them turn the volume up to levels beyond what is absolutely needed. Since many of these players are glued to monitors and televisions for several hours per day, they could be surpassing tolerance levels. According to DangerousDecibels.org, exposure time to loud noises is less tolerable as the volume increases.
Car Stereo Systems
A lot of drivers on the road believe that "booming the bass" is a sign of prestige. Unfortunately, it may also become a sign of direct eardrum damage. Many of these individuals listen to music far beyond 100 decibels, which can only be sustained for mere minutes without risking permanent damage.
Water Skiing
Although it may seem like an unrelated sport, water skiing has the capacity to render a person deaf within one or both ears. Speed may play a factor as the water skier loses control. WHen he or she falls of skis or marine vehicles, there is a risk of water traveling down the ear canal at incredible speeds. Since the inner workings of the ear are fragile, this could cause tears and ruptures causing permanent damage.
Movie Theaters
A good sound system provides a great deal of quality in the movie theater. However, a miscalibration in the stereo equipment could subject the patrons to prolonged exposure of intense sounds. As most movies are between 1.5 and two hours long, The decibel level has to remain below 90 decibels in order to benefit moviegoers. According to
Miracle-Ear, many movie theaters are installing closed-captioning alternatives for the hearing impaired. This allows the experience to be enjoyed without cranking the volume higher.
Smartphone Volume
Talking and using the smartphone as your mp3 player is a common feature of many devices. However, the headset jack could provide sounds that are greater than what the eardrum can resist. Some devices will advise against turning the system up to maximum levels as the decibels could reach damaging levels. Jogging while using a headset plugged into your smartphone should be enough to hear, not drown out the ambient circumstances.
Home-theater Sound Bar
Sound bars connected to your television can produce near movie-theater-quality audio. However, it could also be turned up too loud when viewing anticipated movies with the family. In this situation, you may be risking the hearing of your children as well as yourself.
Human tolerance for sounds can reach above 165 decibels providing the sound only lasts for a fraction of a second. By subjecting yourself to louder noises, you're causing direct damage to your inner ear decreasing it's capabilities. You may think that some of your activities can get you attention or are cool to listen to loudly, but it will increase your risk of deafness over time. Take responsibility for your health and listen to sounds responsibly.