Last
week saw the return of International Ear Care Day organised by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) to raise awareness of hearing loss and to promote prevention
of hearing loss.
A very big concern of mine
is that more than one billion teenagers and young people around the world are
at serious risk of developing hearing loss due to unsafe listening behaviours.
According to data release by WHO, nearly half of 12-35 year olds in
middle-income and high-income countries listen to dangerous levels of sound on
devices like smartphones and MP3 players. Additionally, almost 40% of these
young people are exposed to hazardous noise levels at entertainment venues like
nightclubs, concerts and sporting stadiums.
As they go about their
daily lives doing what they enjoy, more and more people (not only youngsters)
are placing themselves at risk of hearing loss. My advice to everyone is to
look after your hearing because once you lose it, it won’t come back. Hearing
loss can have a devastating effect on your life. It can damage your physical
and mental health, and have an adverse effect on relationships, education and
employment.
The WHO defines an
acceptable level of noise for prolonged exposure as 85 decibels – roughly the
volume of heavy city traffic. As volume increases, safe exposure duration falls
steeply. For example, it is not safe to spend more than 15 minutes around noise
levels of 100 decibels, which is typical for sporting events, clubs and bars.
Everyone should protect
their ears against hearing loss by wearing earplugs at noisy events. They
should also keep the volume down on their personal audio devices, and try to
limit use of these devices to fewer than 60 minutes per day.
If you feel your hearing is
already being affected, I would highly recommend that you book a hearing test
with a qualified audiologist.
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