HOW AND WHY TO PROTECT HEARING?
Why should we preserve our hearing ability?
- Our hearing ability enables us to interact with other people more easily.
It also helps us to indicate danger and/or familiar sounds. For example:
A car is coming and you cannot hear it, then you get hit by the car.
- Damaged hearing system can sometimes hurt.
- Hearing is something that people must have in some jobs. So the loss of hearing narrows down one’s job choices.
What can damage the hearing?
-Noise is the most normal cause of hearing loss. The second most ordinary way of loosing hearing is injury. Also drugs and disease can affect a persons hearing system.
The exposure of ones hearing system to a sound that is over 85 decibels for a long time period can damage the hearing system. Listening to sounds at 100 decibels for 15 min might damage your hearing system permanently and listening to sounds at 110 decibels for over 1 min can result to permanent loss of hearing.
The sounds that hurt the inner ear are not the only sounds that damage a persons hearing. Also for example heavy traffic can be harmful.
As well as cleaning ears with putting something solid into them can damage the ear.
How can you avoid this?
When exposed to loud sounds you should wear some ear plugs or muffins, or in worst cases both. Also you should try not to poke things into your ear even in cleaning purposes.
Ototoxic drugs and chemicals:
Ototoxic drugs are drugs that can result in hearing loss and even be fatal in times.
Other drugs such as quinine and chloroquine that are meant for treating malaria can also damage the hearing system.
Even drugs like aspirin can affect in such a way that the nervous system in the ears is cut down and the patient suffers from temporary hearing loss.
Diseases:
Viral diseases can hurt a persons hearing system, some of these diseases include mumps, measles, and pertussis.
How can you avoid this?
Get vaccinated at right times. If you loose hearing go talk to a doctor immediately.
