Acoustic trauma, hearing loss due to loud noises

Many people do not realize that their ear health has been affected. Yes, hearing noise every day can actually damage the sense of hearing. Loud or loud noises can cause ear damage known as acoustic trauma. Moreover, if there are a lot of annoying noises around you, this will increase your risk of acoustic trauma.

Acoustic trauma, ear injury due to noise

Acoustic trauma is an injury to the inner ear that is often caused by hearing sounds at high decibels. This injury can occur after you have heard very loud sounds or sounds of lower decibels for an extended period of time.

In addition, some cases of head injury can also cause acoustic trauma, if the eardrum ruptures or if other injuries to the inner ear occur. The eardrum protects the middle ear and inner ear. This part of the ear also sends signals to the brain via tiny vibrations.

Now, a person with hearing loss will not be able to get these vibrations, eventually he will not hear a sound at all. Loud sound will be received by the ear in the form of sound waves, which will vibrate the eardrum and can disturb the delicate hearing system. It can also cause the small bones in the middle ear to shift or shift the threshold (treshold shift).

In addition, loud noises that reach the inner ear can also damage the hair cells that line them. As a result, the hair cells are damaged and are unable to send sound signals to the brain. This is what can lead to hearing loss.

Problems can be permanent or temporary

This hearing loss can be caused by a sudden, loud sound such as an explosion. Explosions often cause damaged eardrums and consequently conductive hearing loss.

Many people experience hearing loss after hearing loud noises, for example after watching a concert or after working with noisy equipment. The hearing loss caused by this is often temporary and will go away over time.

However, if this hearing loss continues it can cause permanent problems. Usually permanent acoustic trauma will cause hearing loss in a relatively narrow frequency of about four kiloHertz (kHz). This means that people with hearing problems like this have a hard time hearing in the high-frequency range.

In certain situations in daily life, it may not bother people. However, in louder environments, people with acoustic trauma may have hearing problems.

Who is at high risk for acoustic trauma?

People who are at high risk of developing this hearing problem are people who:

• Work in a place that uses firearms or hard industrial equipment, which operates for a long period of time.
• Be in an environment where high decibel sounds continue for a long period of time.
• Often attend music concerts and other events with high decibel music / often listen to music at maximum volume
• Exposure to very loud sounds without proper equipment or protection, such as ear plugs.

A person who frequently hears sounds whose decibels are greater than 85 decibels also has an increased risk for acoustic trauma.

Generally, doctors will give you an estimate of the decibel range of normal daily sounds, such as about 90 decibels for a small machine. This is done to help you assess whether the sounds you encounter put you at a higher risk for acoustic trauma and hearing loss.

What are the symptoms of acoustic trauma?

The main symptom of acoustic trauma is hearing loss.

In many cases, a person will initially have difficulty hearing high sound frequencies. Difficulty hearing sounds at low frequencies may ensue. Your doctor can test your response to different sound frequencies to assess the extent of acoustic trauma.

In addition, another symptom of acoustic trauma is tinnitus. Tinnitus is a type of injury to the ear that causes a buzzing or ringing sound.

People with mild to moderate tinnitus are most often aware of this symptom when they are in a quiet environment. Tinnitus can be caused by drug use, changes in blood vessels, or other factors. However, it is often the first cause of acoustic trauma when it is caused by exposure to loud sounds.

If you have long-term tinnitus, this can be a sign of acoustic trauma.

How to deal with acoustic trauma?

Hearing aid

Hearing loss is treatable but not curable. Your doctor may recommend technology assistance for your hearing loss condition, such as hearing aids.

A new type of hearing aid called a cochlear implant is also available to help you deal with hearing loss caused by acoustic trauma.

Ear protector

Your doctor will likely recommend using earplugs and other types of devices to protect your hearing. This is part of the personal protective equipment that an employer must provide to someone working in a workplace with exposure to loud noise.

Drugs

Your doctor may also prescribe an oral steroid medication. However, if you have hearing loss, your doctor will emphasize ear protection to prevent the condition from getting worse.

Can acoustic trauma be prevented?

Acoustic trauma is the only type of hearing loss that is completely preventable. If you understand the dangers of noise and avoid the various risks of this disease, you can protect your hearing.

Here's how to prevent acoustic trauma:

• Know which sounds can cause damage (at or above 85 decibels).
• Use earmuffs or other protective device when engaged in vigorous activity (special earmuffs, these earmuffs are available at hardware and sporting goods stores).
• If you can't reduce the noise or protect yourself from it, stay away.
• Beware of dangerous sounds in the environment.