Medical Author: James K. Bredenkamp, MD, FACS
Medical Editor: Leslie J. Schoenfield, MD, PhD

• What is the importance of noise induced hearing loss?
• What are acoustic trauma and noise induced hearing loss?
• How can a person tell if a noisy situation is dangerous to their hearing?
• How loud can a sound get before it affects hearing?
• Do the duration and closeness of exposure to loud noise relate to hearing damage?
• What factors increase a person's susceptibility to noise induced hearing loss?
• How else can noise affect a person?
• What are the regulations regarding on-the-job exposure to noise?
• How effective are hearing protection devices?
• What are the common problems with hearing protectors?
• Do hearing protectors prevent a person from communicating with others?
• How can someone tell if their hearing is already damaged, and what can be done about it?

What is the importance of noise induced hearing loss?

The industrial and technological revolution may have propelled society to higher levels of achievement. At the same time, however, this progress has also made the world a noisier place in which to live. In fact, noise pollution is a growing health hazard and is everywhere. Car alarms, leaf blowers, gunshots, boom boxes, and traffic congestion fill our cities with decibels (the measure of sound intensity). Even escaping to the country may not provide a quiet refuge. Thus, farmers are at high risk for exposure to noise from their farm machinery.

What's more, potentially harmful noise is not necessarily unpleasant or unwanted. For example, the music at a concert or the pounding of a jackhammer on the street can be equally damaging to the inner ear. The reason for this is that any sounds (acoustic energies) delivered with equal intensity, regardless of their source, are equally dangerous. Eventually, continued or repeated exposures to high intensity sound can cause acoustic trauma to the ear. This trauma can result in hearing loss, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), and occasional dizziness (vertigo), and nonauditory effects, such as increases in heart rate and blood pressure.

One-third of the 30 million Americans with hearing loss have an impairment that is at least partially attributed to excessive noise exposure. Noise remains the most common preventable cause of irreversible sensorineural (involving the ear's sensory nerve) hearing loss.

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