When you think of October, what comes to mind? For most of us it’s leaves, apple cider, pumpkins, and Halloween. I doubt your answer would be “National Protect Your Hearing Month,” but that’s exactly what October is. Protect Your Hearing Month is all about ways to keep people safe from Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Don’t think this applies to you? Think again. Below are some pretty staggering facts about NIHL.
1. Teenagers are at particular risk for NIHL. Current research indicates that 1 in 6 teenagers has a permanent hearing loss as a result of high volume sounds. To put it another way, almost 20% of teens have a permanent hearing loss due to noise exposure! In fact, hearing loss in teens has increased by 30% in the last decade. Why?? Likely due to the rise in everyone walking around with these:
2. The incidence of NIHL in adults is slightly higher than in teens. It’s estimated that 1 in 4 adults (25%!) have NIHL. Remember, that’s not the overall number of adults with hearing loss. That’s simply the number of adults who have a hearing loss as a result of noise exposure. Wondering who in particular might be at an increased risk? People in noisy jobs! Construction workers, factory workers, musicians, the military…the list goes on. Just ask my husband—he has a noise induced hearing loss in his right ear from his time in the Army.
3. It doesn’t take long to permanently damage your hearing. In fact, spending just 10 seconds at a loud stadium or concert is all it takes to suffer permanent damage. Yikes!
4. NIHL can also happen gradually over time. Noise from leaf blowers, lawn mowers, even hair dryers can result in NIHL if a person is exposed to these sounds repeatedly over time. One of the most difficult challenges with NIHL is that it is not always noticeable until it’s too late.
5. Speaking of too late, hearing loss is typically irreversible. NIHL results from the tiny hair cells inside the ear being bent and damaged from loud sounds. (Picture blades of grass after something has been sitting on the lawn for too long.) Once the hair cells are bent, they stay bent and they cannot do their job, which is to help send sound to the brain.
Wondering if there’s any good news? Well, there is. NIHL is preventable. Want to know what you can do to keep yourself safe? Click here to get access to my FREE RESOURCE with a list of tips and strategies.