Healthprotection such as earplugs or safety
earmuffs.
Listening to music through
earphones is a common cause of
hearing loss. Many smartphones
and personal players can produce
sounds of 100 decibels or more. Some
will warn you when you exceed safe
levels. If yours doesn’t, keep it set to
less than the maximum volume.
Deafeningly loud noise is not to
blame for all hearing loss, though.
Occasionally, the root of the problem
is an underlying condition such as a
ruptured eardrum. In addition, the
inner ear can also simply deteriorate
as you get older, and unfortunately,
there’s no real way to prevent this.
If you suspect you’ve lost some
hearing, see a GP or audiologist.
A hearing aid could improve your
abilities noticeably, particularly
when it’s a question of picking up
people’s speech.
The technolog y itself “can take
a while to get used to because
your brain needs to readjust,” says
audiologist Dr Gemma Twitchen.
“Research shows this is much easier
if you take action on getting your
hearing assessed early on, when you
first notice it reducing.” Hearing aids
are improving in terms of comfort,
sound quality and appearance –
there are now tiny, barely noticeable
models available.
Another possible consequence
of noise exposure or ageing is
tinnitus. This phantom ringing,
buzzing, hissing or roaring is often
caused by the brain compensating
for missing sound input or by
damaged ear hair cells sending
random signals to it. Tinnitus may
go away, but some people deal
with it constantly or intermittently
for life. Although the condition
affects each sufferer differently,
sleep loss, stress, irritability and
trouble concentrating are among the
potential repercussions.
If your tinnitus comes with hearingloss – and they do often show up
together – then a hearing aid could
ease it by giving your brain external
sounds to focus on. Other potentially
helpful devices include sound
generators that emit gentle white
noise that suppresses the tinnitus.
Though there’s no way to fully
cure age- or noise-related hearing
loss or tinnitus, studies show that
addressing these conditions prevents
problems like social isolation,
depression or dementia from
developing, most likely by improving
your mood, independence and
ability to interact with others.IF YOU SUSPECT
YOU’VE LOST
SOME HEARING,
SEE A GP OR
AU DIOLOGIST21