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Hearing Loss: The Dilemma of Millenials

By Urenna Ukiwe
29 July 2018   |   4:00 pm
Hearing loss is imminent for most people in the future because of their present lifestyle. The environment is filled with noise that is harmful to the ear through short-term and long-term exposure. In the future, some people will only hear if the sounds are slightly loud. The sound is measured in decibels and studies have…

Hearing loss is imminent for most people in the future because of their present lifestyle. The environment is filled with noise that is harmful to the ear through short-term and long-term exposure. In the future, some people will only hear if the sounds are slightly loud.

The sound is measured in decibels and studies have shown that any sound above 85 decibels is harmful to the ear. It is tragic because the society does not take all these into cognizance as individuals pollute the environment where people especially children live with sounds even higher than 85dB. Millenials are most likely to be affected as they do not see anything wrong with loud noises rather they revel in it.

Common sounds that do not affect the ear are; normal whispers which produce 30 dB, normal breathing which produces 10 dB, air conditioner and normal conversation which produce 60 dB, refrigerator hum which produces about 40 dB.

Sources of loud noise above 85dB

The ear. Photo: Bull city mutterings

Noise from speakers in religious buildings.
Music blasting from commercial record stores.
Noise from traffic prone areas including train tracks.
Shouting in the ear.
Noise from aircraft.
Sirens and firecrackers.
The sound from earphones which are set close to the maximum.

Control measure for avoiding long-term exposure to hearing loss

In these parts, noise above 85dB can be almost impossible to avoid unless you reside in the countryside or in a quiet village. It is important to limit the length of exposure to 15 minutes.
To determine the loudness of a sound, there are phone apps that can be installed to determine and give warning alarms about this.
If earpiece must be used to listen to music and other favourite programs, endeavour to set the sound to a level akin to a whisper or normal conversation which is about 30 to 60 dB.

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