What Loud Music Does To Your Ears

hearing loss - ear diagram

The number of musicians is increasing everyday. More exposure to loud music is now one of the common ways to have fun. But with the increase in music fans, hearing problems are also being increased. Those who think or dream of making music, especially loud music, as a way of life should also think about protecting themselves against hearing loss, starting when they’re young.

Your ears are very delicate, prolonged exposure to sound pressure levels above 85dBA will cause damage to your hearing. If you have ever been to a party or to a concert where loud music was played, you may have experienced Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS). It has been researched that stereo systems can generate well up to 130 decibels, and that’s very, very close to your pain and can cause the hearing loss. This temporary loss of hearing can become permanent if exposure is done on a regular basis. If this happens, you will never hear fully again. The only real solution then would be to be fitted for a hearing aids – not an attractive prospect for anyone, especially a teenager.

There are now clinics for the musicians to treat injuries, prevent further injuries, and for music-related damage to hearing, to offer a host of hearing protection devices and strategies, including the alteration of their acoustic environments.

In terms of hearing protection devices, there are now a series of different types of miniature ear protectors – ear plugs that can actually take music from a damaging noise level to a non-damaging level. And there’s no echo in your head from it. It’s as if it’s acoustically invisible. Such devices help in minimizing of removing distracting noises, hence letting you hear more clearly. And for the musicians it doesn’t cut down the noise from the any music instrument and your ears adjust very quickly to the protectors

Remember, it is your high frequency hearing that deteriorates first. Think of what music would sound like if you couldn’t hear anything above 10KHz: just like with a crummy old transistor radio or listening to music over a telephone (no cymbals or high pitched instruments, voices sounding deadened). Protect yourself using the hearing aid or just turn it down! 

For more information on booking a hearing test or the latest hearing aid prices click here.