OM SAI CLINIC

Your hearing is one of the most important functions your body carries out and sometimes you realize that you are losing your sense of hearing when it is too late to get it back. There are two main reasons for this. One of the reasons is age, as the inner ear's hair cells break down and do not pick up sound well. Here are 7 ways to safeguard your hearing:

1. Try to avoid loud places: It is not advisable to go to places where you have to shout to be heard such as in a street, a concert or a construction site.
2. Buy low noise rating equipment: The equipments in your house will make sounds that you hear the most. Try to avoid these equipments by buying appliances with a low noise rating.
3. Wear hearing protection at loud places: However, it is true that it is not always possible to avoid loud noises. This is when you need to get hearing protection. Earplugs and earmuffs are two of the best ways to make sure that even when you are in a loud place, your hearing does not get affected. Earplugs and earmuffs generally reduce sound by 15 to 30 decibels which may be crucial to make sure that later in your life, you do not lose your hearing.
4. Avoid smoke: Smoking raises your chances of hearing loss. Second hand smoke does the same thing. Therefore, try to stop smoking if you are a smoker, and try to stop consuming second hand smoke if you are not a smoker.
5. Remove earwax properly: Earwax cannot be removed properly using a cotton bud. Remember this as otherwise; the earwax could muffle your hearing. Patient should go to doctor to get it cleaned. Mobile phone use should be restricted. 
6. Avoid medications which reduce hearing: Certain medications increase hearing loss. Therefore, double check with your doctor to make sure your medicines will not make you lose your hearing.
7. Get your hearing tested: Finally, get your hearing tested as identifying the problem early on can help stop worsen the situation. Doctor can also prescribe some nerve vitamins to minimise damage to hearing.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Did you know your earphones are making you deaf? Here's how.

Fact: Roughly 1.1 billion people worldwide within the age group of 12-35 have been found to be at an increased risk of developing hearing problems.

Listening to loud music on handheld devices using earphones has become a common trend among youngsters these days. You might find it very relaxing to plug in your earphones and escape into your own world of music, but you need to know that this can cause serious damage to your ears. The worst part: you won't realise your ears are being damaged until it's too late.

So, exactly how is loud music damaging your ears?

Continuous exposure to loud music from earphones or other sources results in a medical condition known as Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), which can be associated with irreversible damage to the ears resulting in deafness.

When you hear loud music for a considerable amount of time every day it affects your hair cells (nerve cells responsible for sending sound signals to the brain) negatively, so that their ability to respond to sound decreases. If this keeps on happening for many months, eventually the hair cells are damaged beyond repair. These cells cannot be regenerated, making you permanently deaf.

How loud is too loud?

If your ears are exposed to sounds at 95, 100, 105, 110 and 115 dB (decibel, the unit used for measuring sound) for 4 hours, 2 hours, 1 hour, 30 minutes and 15 minutes each day respectively, your ears are at risk of getting severely damaged. Also, playing music at 120 dB or above can damage your ears instantly. You can have a realistic idea about the relation between decibels and sounds you commonly hear by referring to this list:

- 30 dB: soft whisper
- 75 dB: busy traffic
- 90 dB: noise of a motorcycle at 25 feet
- 100 dB: noise of a farm tractor
- 140 dB: jet plane taking off

Moreover, if you experience the following symptoms regularly, there's a high chance that you need to get your ears treated soon:

- A ringing sound in your ears when you are at a quiet place, which vanishes after a few minutes
- You need to raise the volume of TV or music to the fullest to hear it properly
- You have difficulty in hearing people talking at a distance of just 3 feet

How can you prevent the risk of hearing impairment?

When you're using earphones, keep the volume low. Also, using in-ear headsets or noise reduction/cancellation earphones also helps as it lets you hear the music distinctly at lower volumes by cutting out background noise.

CHECK: You need to lower the volume of your music if the person sitting or standing beside you can hear the sound coming out of your earphones.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!