Tinnitus And Exposure To High Decibel Sound
Today, the vast majority of tinnitus cases are brought on at least in part by acoustic trauma, or noise damage to the inner ear, and as tinnitus continues to become more prevalent, so does the role of loud sound in causing tinnitus. The explanation is not hard to figure out. Our culture filled with industry and technology is also filled with a lot of loud noise, yet few seem aware of the hazards of hearing damage or tinnitus. Substantial tinnitus help could be realized overall by a greater awareness of how noise affects our hearing.
Noise-induced damage to the ears can occur suddenly or gradually. In the first instance, an abrupt burst of loud noise, like a gunshot in close proximity, can ruin tiny hair receptor cells of the inner ear, causing hearing damage and tinnitus.
In the second instance, extended exposures to loud sound, experienced again and again, as one gets in a machine shop or night club, can damage the hair cells and precipitate tinnitus, too, but incrementally growing worse each time. With prolonged exposure, in the absence of protection, the onset of ear tinnitus is gradual and intermittent in the beginning. For instance, after a day at a loud machine shop, one’s hearing may seem muted and a low degree of ear ringing may be heard for a couple of hours or more. With repeated exposures to loud sound, the intermittent pattern may continue for months or even years, while the tinnitus gradually becomes more noticeable and longer lasting. In the end, the tinnitus becomes unremitting, and with yet more exposure to loud sound the ear ringing begins to disturb life quality, often becoming difficult to tolerate.
Sadly enough, noise trauma can do permanent damage to the stereocilia, the hair receptor cells that convert sound waves into electrical energy that is then transmitted to the brain via nerves. Investigation is underway to find a way to reproduce stereocilia, but to date no one has found a way to make that happen. Once the hair cells are gone, they are gone. Once the damage to the stereocilia is done, loss of hearing occurs for particular sound wavelengths. In that event, tinnitus may be the consequence of invalid nerve impulses at certain pitches of sound, but no one knows exactly how that operates.
Now that iPods and similar sound players have come on the scene, with ear buds that are worn right in the hearing pocket, delivering very loud sound, the leading cause of ringing in ears is starting to get some media attention. When used properly, at safe volume levels, ear buds can deliver sound to the listener very beautifully. But when the volume is turned up without restraint, the ears can sustain significant injury. The danger with using ear buds at high volume is two-fold: First, one can be exposed to high decibels for extended periods of time, and second, due to how the ear buds fit in the ear, sound waves are projected straight down the auditory canal with the greatest possible force for doing irreversible harm.
One should be aware that the tiny hair cells of the inner ear are prone to breaking down as people age, a process known as presbycusis. So, if a person incurs noise-induced harm at a young age, when he or she grows older ear ringing symptoms can become much worse. Therefore, heed this advice if you will: Protect your ears while you are young. In most cases, noise-induced tinnitus can be prevented by the avoidance of loud noise, turning down the volume, or by wearing protective devices, such as ear muffs or ear plugs whenever exposed. For those who want to know how to stop ringing ears, the ideal way is prevention.
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