Plugs for Long Hearing - Regular exposure to loud music can result in permanent hearing damage

Main Category: Hearing / Deafness
Article Date: 28 Feb 2005 - 5:00 PDT


Spring music festivals are announcing their line-ups, and listeners should plan to pack earplugs along with their blankets and lawn chairs. "Regular exposure to loud music can result in permanent hearing damage," says UAB otolaryngologist Thomas Eby, M.D., who treats hearing disorders.

"About a third of the people in the United States have hearing impairment by the time they're aged 60 to 75, often from exposure to repeated noise in the range of 90-to-140 decibels. Damage soon becomes permanent. Many wind up with tinnitus, a constant buzzing in the ears." Clubs, bars and amplified music festivals all typically produce sound at danger levels.

"Make sure to wear earplugs, especially the foam-like kind that squish down in size to go into the ear canal."

University of Alabama at Birmingham
701 20th St. S., AB 1320
Birmingham, AL 35294-0113, USA
Phone 205-934-3884
Fax 205-975-9458
http://www.uab.edu/news

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