Why You Should Pay Attention To What You Hear

You’ve probably been told that listening to loud music through ear buds or headphones and at rock concerts can damage your hearing. And that’s true. The louder a sound is, and the longer you listen to it, the more damage is done. But what about other noises?

Close your eyes for a moment and listen to the sounds in your environment.

If you’re inside a building, you’ll be surprised to notice how many sounds you were unaware of until you focused your attention on them. There’s lots of noise inside:  refrigerator, air conditioner, heater, dishwasher, washer, dryer, background music or television, espresso machine, clatter of dishes, loud conversations…  

If you’re outside, you’ll also notice a wide variety of sounds:  birdsong, construction noises, traffic, voices, the sound of water or wind... all of which you don’t usually notice. We tend to block out familiar noises.

Most of these inside and outside sounds are safe for our ears. But other sounds are not safe. If you often use a blender, or any other loud appliance, you should wear ear plugs while it’s running. If you’re outside and hear an ambulance or police siren approaching, you should cover your ears until it passes. The high volume of crowd noise, announcers, and music at sporting events is another potential threat to your hearing.

The loudness of sound is measured in decibels (dB). In time, any sound that’s 85 decibels or higher can cause hearing loss, or other problems, such as tinnitus (hearing ringing, roaring, buzzing, hissing, or whistling sounds that won’t go away).

If you’re concerned about the level of noise in your work or home or recreation environment, you can measure the decibels with a free mobile decibel-reading app. Or purchase a hand-held or wall-mount decibel meter. Prices generally range from $16 to $250.

The easiest way to protect your hearing is to always carry soft foam earplugs with you. They are cheap, easy to stow in pockets and purses, and readily available in hardware stores and online. There’s a guide on the CDC/NIOSH website that shows the correct way to put foam earplugs into your ears. In some situations, earmuffs or noise-cancelling headphones will protect your ears.

Inside of your ears are tiny, delicate fibers that help you hear. Exposure to loud noise can damage these fibers, as well as nerve cells in the cochlea that send sound signals to the brain. And that damage cannot be fixed, which is a very good reason to pay attention to what you hear.