One in Five U.S. Adolescents Has Hearing Loss

[Pyrrho]

... I think we all know someone who listens to loud music all the time and we can't figure out how they can hear anyone speaking, right? ...

Damage to hearing typically takes time to be noticed. In many cases, it is only years later that one will notice hearing loss from loud noises heard. So someone damaging their hearing today may well be able to hear people speaking, for the moment. This is one of the reasons why hearing loss from excessive noise is so common, because it does not typically immediately destroy one's hearing, so many people are completely unaware of the fact that they are destroying their hearing. But unless one dies prematurely, one will experience the effects of one's noise exposure eventually.

I remember a study from some years ago about how old people in non-industrialized countries (in countries where loud noises are uncommon) typically have better hearing than old people in industrialized countries. Of course, disease can affect hearing as well (as, for example, with Beethoven), so avoiding loud noises does not guarantee that one will always have good hearing. It is, however, essential for having good hearing when one is older; one will not have good hearing when one is old if one is exposed to too much noise when one is young.

Some reading on noise and hearing loss:

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noise.asp

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/noise.htm

 

[highfigh]

Damage to hearing typically takes time to be noticed. In many cases, it is only years later that one will notice hearing loss from loud noises heard. So someone damaging their hearing today may well be able to hear people speaking, for the moment. This is one of the reasons why hearing loss from excessive noise is so common, because it does not typically immediately destroy one's hearing, so many people are completely unaware of the fact that they are destroying their hearing. But unless one dies prematurely, one will experience the effects of one's noise exposure eventually.

I remember a study from some years ago about how old people in non-industrialized countries (in countries where loud noises are uncommon) typically have better hearing than old people in industrialized countries. Of course, disease can affect hearing as well (as, for example, with Beethoven), so avoiding loud noises does not guarantee that one will always have good hearing. It is, however, essential for having good hearing when one is older; one will not have good hearing when one is old if one is exposed to too much noise when one is young.

Some reading on noise and hearing loss:

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noise.asp

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/noise.htm

You didn't see 'all the time' in my post, did you? I was referring to the kind of people who brag about how long their ears rang after seeing a band, how many shows they go to in a short time and the idiots who used to stick their head in the bass bins at a live show. Being exposed to excessive SPL once may be damaging if it's extreme but anyone who lives in any place with machinery will not be unaffected by noise. Just being in a car with the windows down is damaging. If other vehicles are around, it's even worse.