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Taking care of your ears

21 Apr 2016

By 2050, it’s estimated that one in four Australians will suffer hearing loss. While not lifethreating, hearing loss definitely threatens quality of life. And problems arise because once the damage is done, hearing loss cannot be reversed.  

 

The main way hearing loss affects someone's lifestyle is when they begin to withdraw from their community because they can no longer feel part of it. One of the main consequences of hearing loss, and perhaps the most debilitating, is not being able to understand speech because there is too much background noise. This means it’s difficult for those with hearing loss to be social active and engaged in conversation.

Professor David Ryugo is Head of the Hearing Research Laboratory at Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research. He says the withdrawal from the community can result in a multitude of other issues.

“It is this social withdrawal that makes individuals more vulnerable to depression and five times more at risk of suffering from early onset dementia.​ In the end, having good hearing during your ‘golden years’ plays a significant role in to achieving the richest fulfilment in life.” 

How does hearing loss occur?

According to Professor Ryugo and his team, hearing loss occurs mainly due to damage to the ear.

“When the ear gets damaged, less sound enters the system because you need greater volume in order to hear,” he says. “This decrease in auditory stimulation causes a rewiring of the brain and affects its ability to decipher sound. This is where the symptoms of hearing loss come in, making it difficult to comprehend sound.” 

Hearing loss can also result in other issues for example, the inability to determine how loud something actually is, phantom sounds such as ringing in the ear and difficulty in understanding speech. 

How to care for your ears

Fifty per cent of Australians over the age of 60 suffer significant hearing loss. This means that half the population technically have a communication impairment. This can lead to avoidance of social situations, iike going to restaurants or noisy family dinners with the grandchildren. According to Pofessor Ryugo, any cure for hearing loss is a long way away, so the best thing you can do is look after your hearing now. 

“Taking ca​re of your hearing means minimising your exposure to elements that harm hearing.,” he suggests. “This includes environmental noise (trucks, motorcycles, power tools, domestic appliances, concerts, loud music and loud venues), chemicals (drugs and solvents), viruses, and head trauma.” 

He also suggests avoiding situations where harmful noise may be present. This means 100dB or higher.

“We know that 15 minutes of exposure to 100dB causes damage to hearing, and there are plenty of apps that monitor the level of noise and check that it’s below that limit. For example: ‘Maximum dB Exposure Time’, ‘RTA Lite’ or ‘SPL Meterthat’, which are all free to download.” 

Professor Ryugo also says that while loud sounds in small doses won’t harm you, their effect is cumulative, so eventually, it’s going to do damage to your hearing.  

Regardless of whether you can hear perfectly, you should check your hearing regularly, because the damage done is permanent.