Did Exposure to Loud Noise cause Your Hearing Loss, or Was it Another Susceptible Factor?

Regular check-ups and hearing tests to detect hearing loss in its early stages, along with preventative care, are crucial for properly treating and managing your hearing health. If you are exposed to loud noise or notice hearing loss, seek help immediately. Do not wait until you notice signs of hearing loss. 

Hearing Loss: The 10 Signs

If you experience at least one of these signs, your hearing loss may have been caused by noise exposure:

1. Other people sound like their speech is muffled when they speak. 
2. Difficulty understanding others when they are speaking, especially when there’s too much background noise.
3. Difficulty distinguishing speech sounds, especially between consonants such as f and s, p and t, or sh and th.
4. Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds (alarms, birds chirping, children’s voices, or a telephone ringing).
5. Difficulty understanding speech sounds over the phone. 
6. Frequently asking others to speak slower, louder, or clearer.
7. Asking someone to repeat what they said.
8. Turning the volume up when listening to the TV, computer, radio, or stereo, and having others ask you to turn it down.
9. Hearing tinnitus - a buzzing, chirping, or ringing noise that has no outside sound source and can only be heard by you.
10. Hypersensitivity to specific sounds (like chewing, tapping a pen against a table, the clicking sound of a keyboard), which can feel very annoying or cause physical pain/headaches when heard. 

A hearing test can be administered if you:

• Are frequently exposed to loud noise, or have been exposed to very loud noise. 
• Notice changes in your hearing.
• Your friends, family, or coworkers notice that you have trouble understanding them. Usually, the people that you regularly interact with will be the first to notice something is wrong. 

A pure tone test will be administered, and you will listen to different tones through headphones. This is how your hearing healthcare provider identifies the quietest tone that you can hear. You may be asked to repeat a series of words or press a button when you hear a tone.  

Risks for Hearing Loss

These are some causes and susceptibilities of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and other hearing loss factors:

• Exposure to loud noises (power tools, music, or a loud workplace environment). Remember to wear earplugs in these situations. 
• Genetic factors and your personal susceptibility to noise.
• Chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure. 
• Head trauma or other injuries to the ear.
• Ototoxic medications (aspirin, cancer treatment drugs such as cisplatin and carboplatin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and certain antibiotics such as gentamicin.) 
• Organic liquid chemicals, like toluene (a clear, colorless, water-insoluble liquid that has an odor associated with paint thinners.)

Noise Exposure can also Lead to other Developmental Problems

1. Anxiety: Hearing loss caused by noise exposure can create more stress on the body, which can lead to anxiety, poor sleep, and fatigue.
2. Heart Disease: Hearing loud noises for an extensive amount of time can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and a rapid heart rate.
3. Hearing Damage to a Baby During Pregnancy: A newborn’s hearing can be damaged from exposure to excessive noise during pregnancy.
4. Education and Language Acquisition: Homes or other learning environments that are too noisy can disrupt learning and language development in children. Even mild hearing loss can interfere with a child’s ability to speak, learn, and socialize with others.     
5. Depression and Loneliness: Everyone has experienced the effects of isolation due to the pandemic, but people with hearing loss have a unique experience with it. Hearing loss that remains untreated, particularly in the elderly, can lead to:

• Social isolation
• Depression
• Dementia
• Falls (which can lead to injury, hospitalizations, or death.)
• Loss of independence
• Sedentary life  

If you are experiencing hearing loss for any reason, please contact us at Pure Sound Hearing for a complimentary hearing test and consultation.

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