Hearing Questions Answered
Welcome to the Ask the Expert page, where Dr. Barry Freeman and Dr. Gyl Kasewurm answer all your questions about hearing health, including the treatment and prevention of hearing loss. As the SoundMatters.org resident experts, they will be answering questions about every aspect of hearing health and clearing up common misconceptions.
I love my iPod—how can I listen safely?
You can make listening pleasurable while protecting your hearing by using custom-fitted earphone buds that fit snugly in the ear. MP3 players often come with loosely fitted earbuds. This leads to some sounds (mostly the bass sounds) to leak out around the ear. The normal response is to turn up the volume so that you can hear more of the bass sounds which are leaking out at normal listening levels. If you’ve ever been on an airplane or in the gym and can hear the music of the person sitting next to you, you’ll know what I mean! By using earbuds that fit snugly, you won’t lose the bass sounds, and you will find listening more enjoyable at lower intensity levels.
How do I know if I am damaging my hearing?
So many people think that sounds aren’t causing damage to hearing because there is no pain or discomfort from it. Sound levels far below the threshold of pain cause hearing loss. However, it often is a slow, cumulative process that sometimes takes years. There are three warning signs that sounds are loud enough to cause hearing loss:
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) that is present after you leave the noise.
- If you need to raise your voice in order to talk to a person standing next to you then the sound is loud enough to permanently damage your hearing.
- If, after leaving the area of loud sounds, your ears feel blocked or ‘stuffy,’ with those sounds may be causing permanent hearing loss.
If you experience any or all of these symptoms, reduce the volume, move away from the noise and use hearing protection.
What’s the easiest way to protect my hearing when I am exposed to noise?
Keep hearing protection/earplugs handy. Noise is everywhere in our environment, and since many of these sounds can contribute to permanent hearing loss, bring protection.
Ear plugs are inexpensive and can be purchased over the counter or custom-made. Keep them in an accessible place to minimize your total exposure to loud sounds. Put them in your ears during movies, concerts, sporting events or cutting the grass. While a single exposure to any of these activities may not be enough to cause permanent damage, the damage is cumulative over your lifetime.
What are the signs of cumulative hearing loss?
Hearing loss from noise exposure typically leads to a reduction in the ability to hear high pitches like consonants (s, sh, th, ch), children’s voices and certain sounds in the environment like a telephone ring. Everyone should have their hearing checked annually to assure that they are not developing a hearing loss—especially if they are routinely around loud sounds.
I spent the day on my dirt bike and my mom said that I should wear ear plugs to prevent hearing loss. However, I wore a helmet that covered my ears and the engine noise never was loud enough to cause pain in my ears. I told my mom not to worry, and that there was no way the noise from the bike was causing hearing loss. Don’t you agree?
Wow, I hope you had a great day and lots of fun on the bike. I also hope you took a minute to enjoy the sounds of nature in the environment. You should enjoy it now because, I’m afraid you won’t like what I am about to tell you. First, helmets generally offer no protection against hearing loss unless they were very specifically designed and developed to protect hearing. The original helmet designs for this purpose were for military pilots to offer enough hearing protection to keep them from a hearing loss. I doubt that your helmet had any hearing protection benefits. Second, there is no direct relationship between pain and hearing loss. That is, sound levels well below the threshold of pain (125 decibels) cause hearing loss (85 decibels). Therefore, it is quite possible and most probable that the engine noise from your bike will slowly lead to permanent hearing loss. This is a slow process; it may be years before you will notice it. But, be assured, that over time you no longer will be able to hear the birds or other sounds in our environment. You need to get some hearing protection to wear along with your helmet. The helmet protects you from traumatic brain injury, and the ear protection protects you from permanent hearing loss. I recommend that you first get a hearing test, and then talk to the specialist about the right type of hearing protection you will need.
I’m in my high school’s marching band. Should I be concerned about hearing damage?
The short answer is “yes” and, remember, younger ears sometimes are more susceptible to damage than older ears. Just like professional musicians take measures to protect themselves from long sessions of high-decibel music, amateur bands of all kinds -from garage bands to marching bands- ought to do the same. Custom-fitted musician earplugs aren’t as expensive as you might think—but even basic foamies (inserted correctly) or over the counter musician plugs can do a great job of protecting you from hearing loss.
My friend, after being diagnosed with hearing loss by an audiologist, is now trying a “cure” she found on the internet. I am highly skeptical but wanted a professional opinion—what is the best way to cure hearing loss?
Although it comes in many different forms, this is one of the most common questions I get. So, let me be as clear as possible: There is no cure for hearing loss. Hearing loss can be managed with hearing aids, but it cannot be reversed. Once the damage is done, the loss is permanent for your lifetime.
I am eight months pregnant with my first child. I am going to a loud concert this weekend—I am wearing ear plugs to protect my hearing, but is my unborn son at risk of hearing damage?
First of all, congratulations on becoming a mom and good for you for caring enough to ask this question. Healthy hearing is a lifelong pursuit and the prenatal and childhood years are critical. Now, to answer your question—although the womb is a highly-protective place, a fetal hearing is fully developed at 20 weeks and can be damaged by excessive noise.
It seems like my ears are constantly ringing. What’s up?
Tinnitus is the likely culprit. Have your hearing evaluated and if the problem is noise-induced tinnitus, take precautions to protect yourself from further exposure to damaging noise levels.
I haven’t had my ears checked since sixth grade—at what age should I start getting hearing screenings?
No matter your age, ask your doctor to make a hearing screening a part of your regular annual checkup.
