Protect Yourself From Noise Pollution

The extent of damage to your hearing caused by noise depends on:

• Decibel level: How loud a sound is.
• Distance: How close you are to the source of the sound.
• Time: The length of time you are exposed to the sound.

Your ears are your warning system for potentially dangerous noises. Noise is too loud when:

• You must raise your voice to be understood by someone nearby.
• The noise hurts your ears.
• You develop a buzzing or ringing sound in your ears, even temporarily (indicates some hair cells have died).
• You don’t hear as well as you normally do until several hours after you get away from the noise.

Protect Your Hearing:

Your ears aren’t able to “get used to” noise levels. If a certain noise level doesn’t seem to bother you as much as it did before, it’s not because your ears have toughened up to it; it’s because you’ve lost some of your hearing. In this case, it’s all the more critical to protect the hearing you have left.

For Safe Listening:

• Lower the volume.
• Some music devices have an option for users to set volume control limits.
• Move away from the noise.
• Avoid sitting or standing right in front of concert speakers.
• Wear hearing protectors, such as earplugs or earmuffs or cover your ears with your hands.

References:

1. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), “Basis for the Exposure Standard,” in Publication No 98-126, Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Noise Exposure (1998).  
2. Prevention of Hearing Loss | Hearing Loss Association of America. www.hearingloss.org/content/prevention-hearing-loss.
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. NIH Publication # 10-6431G, September 2014. (Source: www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov)