16 Facts About Hearing Health

Maybe you know a thing or two about what it’s like to have hearing loss, but here are 16 facts that you may not know about.  

1. The third most prevalent health concern among Americans is hearing loss.
2. Loudspeakers at a concert can reach up to nearly 120 decibels. It only takes 7.5 minutes of being anywhere near them to be harmful to your hearing health.
3. One out of three adults, aged 65 and older, have some range of hearing loss; although the vast majority of people who have hearing loss are under 65-years-old.
4. Millennials are a growing population of people who are experiencing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).    
5. 37% of children who have untreated hearing loss fail at least one grade.
6. Children are more likely to experience ear infections because their immune systems are still developing, and their Eustachian tubes rest more horizontally than adults. 
7. Exposure to excessive noise is the #1 cause of hearing loss. NIHL is also the only preventable type of hearing loss.
8. The smallest bones in the human body are the bones located in the middle ear (malleus, incus, and stapes.). All three bones can fit together on the surface of a penny.
9. The outer ear continuously grows throughout your lifetime.
10. The middle ear is approximately the size of an M&M.
11. The inner ear is no larger than a pencil eraser’s circumference.
12. Anthropologists have studied earwax to get a better idea of human’s early migratory patterns. Learn more about it under the “Ethnic Origins” section from “5 Facts About Earwax”.
13. Snakes hear with their jawbones, fish respond to changes in pressure, and male mosquitoes use their antennae.  
14. During WWI parrots were kept at the Eiffel Tower in Paris because they had extraordinary hearing abilities. When a parrot heard enemy aircraft, they warned everyone before the human ear could hear it.
15. In some cases, when your ear becomes damaged, your sense of taste may not function properly. Nerve cells (known as Chorda Tympani) found in the ear, are connected to taste receptors located at the front of your tongue to the brain. In other instances, some patients who receive surgery on their ear may notice a change in their sense of taste. This does not conclude that hearing loss directly influences the inability to taste.  
16. The eardrum moves less than a billionth of an inch when it comes in contact with sound. 

If you or a loved one are noticing hearing loss, get your hearing checked immediately. A hearing test and proper treatment can help save hearing loss or slow it down from getting worse. Get in touch with us at Pure Sound Hearing for a complimentary hearing test and consultation.

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