Hearing loss? They told us so!                 

            When the big band era gave way to rock ‘n roll and then to heavy metal, audiologists and hearing researchers sounded the alarm (pun intended). Their experience among workers in heavy industry and military personnel revealed that loud noise damages the delicate hair cells of the inner ear. Those cells do not recover or regenerate and prolonged exposure to loud music, the experts warned, threatened the hearing quality of the young generation that enjoyed such music.

That young generation has matured chronologically and the audiologists’ predictions are coming to pass. It is likely to become worse among today’s children, largely because of the high prevalence of personal listening devices. Approximately 20 percent of teenagers have some hearing loss, about 30 percent more than a generation ago.

Noisy environments can damage hair cells even when the decibel level (loudness) is only slightly above the recommended threshold if the exposure occurs over a long period. For instance, symphony musicians tend to have a greater rate of noise-induced hearing loss than the general population. An interesting observation in one study is that violinists have a small but measurably greater loss of hearing in the left ear. It would be interesting to know if there is a similar effect in the right ear of left-handed violinists.

About 20 percent of rock musicians in one study had permanent hearing loss and many of them suffered from tinnitus, a persistent ringing in the ears. Since the damage to hair cells is cumulative it’s likely that those numbers will increase as those musicians reach and surpass middle age.

The music industry has not ignored this problem. Devices that protect hearing are increasingly common among musicians. Unfortunately, listeners of recorded music and rock concert audiences seldom take precautions to protect their hearing. The latter probably don’t get enough exposure to subject them to significant damage but ear bud wearers probably do.

A basic rule of thumb is that if the sounds emanating from a wearer’s earpieces or headphones can be heard by someone standing nearby, the sound level is too high. Hearing experts recommend that loudness of listening devices should be at 60 percent or less of maximum volume and for no more than 60 minutes, a suggestion likely ignored by nearly everyone, especially teenagers.

Modern hearing aids are almost invisible. Good thing. A generation from now almost everyone will be wearing them.