Avoiding Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
Permanent hearing loss can be caused by sustained exposure to loud noises. Being exposed to a prolonged loud noise even for a short period of time can lead to hearing loss. If you take preventions to protect your hearing and avoid situations with particularly loud sustained noises, you can preserve your good hearing long into old age.
The Dangers of Headphones
With the invention of MP3 players, listening to music with headphones is more popular than ever before. But headphones, especially ear buds, can be particularly bad for your hearing. Here are a few tips to follow when using headphones:
Check the volume on your MP3 player and make sure it is turned down before putting in your headphones. Once the music is playing, you can gradually turn up the volume. This prevents your ears from being exposed to unnecessarily loud music. Don’t turn up the volume on your headphones to drown out other sound. If you are in a noisy area, such as an airplane, don’t use the loud volume of your music to block out other noise. The background noise is likely already putting stress on your ears, and by turning up your music to block it out you are compounding the noise that is bombarding your ears. Wear a pair of noise-canceling headphones and keep the volume low. Noise-canceling headphones will block out any surrounding sound so that you can listen to your music without trouble. Since all other sound will be blocked out you can keep your music volume relatively low. If your MP3 player has a safe volume moderator, consider turning this on to help protect you from listening to music too loud.
Other Tips to Protect Your Ears
In addition to being mindful of how you use your headphones, consider the following tips to preserve your hearing in other situations:
Keep a pair of ear plugs around in case you are suddenly exposed to loud noises. If your job requires you to work around loud machinery, sirens, or other things that generate a lot of noise, consider wearing a pair of noise-canceling ear muffs. Wear ear protection at work whenever you are advised to do so. Give your ears a break. If you can get away from loud noises for a while by taking a break or being rotated to another job position, take advantage of the opportunity.
Addressing Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
If you have suffered permanent damage to your hearing because of job conditions and were not warned that you should protect your ears, your employer may be liable for your hearing loss.