The objective of the study was to compare awareness of music-induced hearing loss to the behavior trends. The article states that they believe that music-induced hearing loss is an unconsciously self-inflicted public health concern and it could evolve into an epidemic because of the appeal of loud music.

The results showed that hearing loss was considered a problem by 32% of the 2500 respondents compared with other health issues such as drug/alcohol use (62%). However, nearly half of the respondents admitted experiencing symptoms such as tinnitus or hearing loss after loud music exposure.

Seventy-five percent of respondents owned an MP3 player, with 24 percent listening to their music player for more than 15 hours a week. Nearly half of the respondents also said they use their player at 75 percent to 100 percent of its maximum volume capacity.

Most respondents could not remember learning about prevention of potential hearing loss, although the media has become the most informative source. Most respondents indicated that they would adopt protective ear behavior if made aware of hearing loss risk, especially if informed by health care professionals, revealing an educational opportunity.

This is an very telling study in that it show two things.

#1 – Respondents could not recall being informed about hearing loss risks.
#2 – Respondents would be in favor of using hearing protection if they were ever educated about the risks.

Help us spread the word about the risk of music-induced hearing loss. Listening to your portable music player is detrimental to your hearing wellness. Take a look at our blog post about putting a limit on your iPod volume.

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For example, you could hold the iPhone up to your head phone to measure exactly how much sound you are pumping directly into your ears. Or you could use the app to monitor the noise while you are walking on a typical street corner.

Unfortunately the iPhone is not able to measure sound levels above 100 dB, but that really isn’t much of a limitation because anything over 85 decibels for an extended period of time can cause permanent hearing loss. So if you take a reading of your car stereo and find that you typically listen to your music at 90 dB, we’d recommend that you turn your volume down. You could be damaging your ears!

Check out this video review of one of the more popular iPhone decibel meters called, Decibel.

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If you work in an environment that has any amount of ambient noise like fingers on keyboards or loud phone conversations you are likely listening to your music at a much higher volume than you realize.

For example, if your work environment noise level is at a constant 80dB and you are listening to music on your headphones, in order to overcome that level of ambient noise you will have to turn your headphone above 80dB. And that’s a real concern because 90dB of sustained noise may result in hearing loss.

Also, after a long day a work most of us love to relax on our drive home while listening to some music, but the typical city noise level inside of a car is 85dB, which is just under the level of possible hearing damage.

The take home message here is that you must be aware of the level of noise around you because it plays a role in the volume of your own noise intake, whether it’s a portable music player or a cell phone. If you are serious about maintaining your hearing wellness you may want to consider our hearing supplement, PROHIERAN. It’s an all natural way of protecting your ears.

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1. Select Settings and then select Volume Limit
2. Use the Click Wheel to select the maximum volume
   The blue triangle shows where the current maximum volume is set
   
3. Press the Center button to set the maximum volume limit
4. On the Volume Limit screen, click Set Combination to require a combination to be entered to change the maximum volume. Click Done if you do not want to set a password for the volume limit.
   
5. If you choose Set Combination, enter a combination
   – Use the Click Wheel to select a number for the first position.
   – Press the Center button to confirm your choice and move to the next position.
   – Use the same method to set the remaining numbers of the combination. You can use the Next/Fast-forward button to move to the next position and the Previous/Rewind button to move to the previous position.
   – Press the Center button in the final position to confirm the entire combination and return to the previous screen.

You can test the volume limit by playing a song on your iPod and turning the volume all the way up. You should see a lock icon to the right of the volume bar.

Take action today to protect your hearing for tomorrow and preserve your overall hearing wellness.

PROHIERAN.com

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But when sounds are intense or are extremely loud and last a long time, the structures in our inner ear can actually become damaged, causing noise-induced hearing loss. These sensitive structures, referred to as hair cells, are small sensory cells with the purpose of converting sound energy into signals that travel to the brain. Unfortunately, once damaged, these so-called hair cells cannot be grown back. The result is hearing loss.

While hearing loss becomes more acute as we age, much of the damage of hair cells occurs at a younger age. Extremely loud decimals of music, close-range firearms, certain machinery, fireworks, and similar sound can cause damage. Some hearing loss is considered temporary, and may last for only a short period before normal hearing is restored. Much hearing loss is considered irreversible, however, although there are aids and supplements like PROHIERAN that can help. A common side-effect to the noise-induced hearing loss is tinnitus, which we have discussed in a previous blog.

Even though past exposure to extremely loud sounds may have already done damage to your hearing, you should protect yourself from incurring additional hearing loss from future exposure to loud noises. If you know you’ll be somewhere or in an environment where loud noises will occur, invest in hearing protection such as earplugs or earphones. If you have young children, make sure their hearing is protected as well. Since adults have often already lost a degree of their hearing, they may be less apt to realize the loud environmental factors around them that can cause harm to a fully-hearing child. While it may be harder to enforce, you should also have discussions with your teens or young adults about the decimals of loud music. After all, this is a case where you can truly say that, “your music is hurting my ears!”

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Eric Clapton – “My hearing isn’t ruined, but if I stop and listen I’ve got whistling all the time which I suppose is a mild tinnitus. I probably had two 100-watt stacks at the height of things and I would turn one on for guitar solos. It was just mad!”

Neil Young – He fried his ears while mixing the live album Weld. “That’s why I really regret it,” he is quoted as saying in Jimmy McDonough’s biography, Shakey. “I hurt my ears and they’ll never be the same again.”

From Wikipedia: Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. It is usually described as a ringing noise, but in some patients it takes the form of a high pitched whining, buzzing, hissing, screaming, humming, or whistling sound, or as ticking, clicking, roaring, “crickets” or “tree frogs” or “locusts”, tunes, songs, or beeping.[3] It has also been described as a “wooshing” sound, as of wind or waves. Tinnitus can be intermittent or it can be continuous. In the latter case, this “phantom” sound can create great distress in the sufferer.

If you are suffering from Tinnitus, take the all natural approach hearing wellness. PROHIERAN promotes healthy blood flow to the inner ear and nerve tissues, neutralizing toxins from the environment, and reducing damage from environmental stress and other harmful events.

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