Music Induced Hearing Loss

I feel kids are at a higher risk for hearing loss in relationship to loud music. Too much loud music can harm your ear drums. Young people, especially the ones who are in school, listen to ipods and radios on full blast several hours of the day.

A huge problem are headphones and radios. Canal phones or any headphones that cut out all background noise could help reduce hearing loss. Also dynamating your car will help eliminate outside noise that way the music can be lowered in volume. This will reduce the volume level someone feels they must reach in order to hear the music better.

It is quite alarming the statistics on people who have hearing loss due to loud music. It has been proven that we lose our hearing just by aging. Listening to loud music drastically increases the risk.

I agree, sometimes I encounter people with earphones and I can hear the music their listening to. When I sit next to someone, I don't even need my ipod because I can hear theirs just fine! I think that people tend to become unaware that the music is too loud and the next time they listen, they have to put the volume higher because their hearing is already decreaing.

People are unaware that a deaf person still has the same ability of a non hearing impaired person to know when loud is too loud. It does not matter if you are deaf and can hear, your ears still sense a loud noise which could be painful for some.

Teenagers these days want full volume for everything weather it be at concerts or listening to thier radio. The deaf will even complain of the noise. We need to make teens aware that it may be cool now to listen to your i-pod on full blast but think of the long-run and how you might pay for it. You'll wish you never listened to music that loud back then.

I am a teenager who listens to music loudly; however, I'm always considerate of others and people might be bothered by the volume.

Yes, but are you aware of your safety? Your ears could be damaged severely if you continue to listen to your music that loud.

Units of sound are measured in decibels. Silence is measured at about zero decibels. The sound of an ambulance siren is at 120 decibels which is very intense to our ears. Sounds reaching 120 decibels or higher are painful to our ears at close distances.

Here is a chart in Decibels explaining how severe your hearing loss is if you were tested:

Normal -10 to 15
Slight 16 to 25
Mild 26 to 40
Moderate 41 to 55
Moderately severe 56 to 70
Severe 71 to 90
Profound 91+

My ears would always ring the next day after a concert or a football game.
Does the abuse of sound levels at concerts and loud events cause permanent damage?

Absolutely it can. Constant exposure to loud noises can cause damage to your ears. Also be aware that it doesn't have to be constant. One loud single sound can severely damamge your ear causing deafness even if you haven't been exposed to constant loud noises. However, tt is common that you experience Tinnitus episodes after a concert or event.

Just to add on to the last post. If you experience short episodes of Tinnitus after a concert or something similar, it could be very indicative that you are experiencing or will be experiencing some sort of hearing loss.

Noise-induced Hearing Loss occurs when too much sound intensity is transmitted into and through the auditory system. An acoustic signal from an energy source, such as a radio, enters into the external auditory canal, and is funneled through to the tympanic membrane. The tympanic membrane acts as an elastic diaphragm and drives the ossicular chain of the middle ear system into motion. Then the middle ear ossicles transfer mechanical energy to the cochlea by way of the stapes footplate hammering against the oval window of the cochlea. This hammering causes the fluid within the cochlea to push against the stereo cilia of the hair cells, which then transmit a signal to the central auditory system within the brain. When the ear is exposed to excessive sound levels or loud sounds over time, the over stimulation of the hair cells leads to heavy production of reactive oxygen species, leading to oxidative cell death. They were not able to fully prevent it.