No extensive research has been conducted in our country, but a study conducted in the United States found that one in every ten Americans has hearing loss that prevents them from understanding normal speech.
“High "Exposure to sound" is the most common cause.
Can "noise" really damage my ears?
Yes, noise can be dangerous. If it is loud enough and lasts long, it can damage your hearing.
Damage caused by noise is called nerve-type hearing loss; Many reasons can lead to this type of hearing
loss, but the one caused by noise has an important privilege - its progression can be stopped or completely prevented without
Can I train my ears?
No. If you think that you have gotten used to it because you always grew up in noise, this is wrong. Noise
has reduced your hearing and no medication, operation or hearing aid can completely correct the damage that noise does to your ear.
How Does the Ear Work?
The ear is outer, middle and inner. It consists of three main parts: The outer ear consists of the auricle and the external ear
canal. The eardrum separates the outer ear and the middle ear. Three
small ossicles in the middle ear allow sound waves to be transmitted to the inner ear. The auditory nerve begins in the inner ear and carries sound
to the brain.
All kinds of sound sources send sound waves or vibrations into the air. These pass through the outer ear canal and hit your eardrum and make it vibrate. Vibrations are transmitted to the inner ear,
auditory nerve, through the ossicles in the middle ear.
Here, the vibrations are transformed into nerve impulses and sent to the relevant region in the brain. The brain interprets the sound by separating it as "music, door slam, human voice".
If the noise is too loud, it starts to kill the nerve cells in the inner ear. The longer you are exposed to noise, the more auditory nerves are damaged. As the number of nerves in your auditory nerve decreases, your hearing
decreases. It is not possible to bring dead nerve cells back to life; The damage is permanent.
How do you know that noise is harmful? Can I listen?
People's sensitivity to noise varies. In general, noise can damage your ear under the following conditions:
you have to shout to hear yourself
noise causes pain in your ear
you have tinnitus
a few minutes after being exposed to noise If you feel slightly deaf for hours.
Sound can be measured scientifically in two ways. The intensity or intensity of the sound is expressed in decibels.
Frequency is the number of vibrations of the sound per second. The sound is heard as thick (low) at low frequencies and thin (high) at high frequencies.
What does the frequency of the sound have to do with my hearing loss?
Frequency is expressed as vibrations per second. Children whose hearing is at the best level can hear sounds between 20 and
20,000 vibrations per second.
The human voice is between 300 and 4000 frequencies, and people hear the sounds in this range better than others.
Hearing loss. When it starts, hearing at high frequencies first decreases. This is why people have difficulty hearing the voices of women and children with thin
voices.
The loss at high frequencies can also disrupt the structure of the voice; Therefore, even if people hear, they have difficulty in fully understanding
what they hear. Those with hearing loss often have difficulty distinguishing
similar sounds.
What is Decibel?
The intensity of sound is measured in decibels (dB). 0 decibels is considered the lowest sound that the human ear can hear. 180 dB is measured as the sound made by the rocket at the moment of launch.
Decibels increase and decrease logarithmically. This means. 20 dB is 10 times more intense than 10 dB.
30 dB is 100 times more intense than 10 decibels.
Approximate sound sample level (dB)
0 The human ear lowest sound that can be heard
30 Whisper, quiet speech
60 Normal conversation, sewing machine, typewriter
90 Heavy vehicle traffic, maximum human exposure to 8 hours per day (90% of people are exposed to this
/> can be protected)
100 Electric saw, asphalt drilling machine, (exposure for two hours a day without protection)
115 Loud rockets or rock concerts (exposure for a maximum of 15 minutes a day)
140 Weapons sound, jet motor, (it creates pain in unprotected ears. This sound should not be allowed without ear protection)
How high can the decibels be without affecting my ear?
Experts say that continuous exposure to sound above 85 decibels is dangerous. They agreed that it could be possible.
Does the duration of the sound I hear have anything to do with the danger of affecting my hearing?
There definitely is. The longer you are exposed to high-intensity sound, the more
damage will occur to your hearing.
At the same time, the closer you are to the sound source, the greater the intensity of the sound.
Every gunshot is heard by people nearby. may cause damage. Long-barreled guns and cannon
are the worst because they make louder noise. However, even toy guns can cause damage to your hearing if you are close to them.
Recent research on young people raises significant alarm. Very loud discos
and listening to loud music through headphones may be responsible for this.
Can noise cause more harm than just my hearing?
Tinnitus that occurs after exposure to noise It is mostly permanent. Some people may experience increased anxiety and sensitivity to loud noises, an increase in pulse and blood pressure, or an increase in stomach
acid secretion.
Loud noise may also reduce productivity by distracting attention in the work environment.
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Should I use hearing protectors?
If you work in a very noisy environment, you should use hearing protectors. You should also use it when using a very loud
tool or weapon.
Noise at 85dB or above should not be allowed in the workplace for more than eight hours a day. If the average sound intensity where you work
is higher than 90 dB for eight hours, you should use hearing protectors.
What are hearing protectors and how effective are they?
These protectors prevent the sound reaching the membrane. They help reduce the severity. They come in two types: earplugs
and headphones.
Earplugs are plugs that are inserted into the external ear canal and prevent the intensity of sound. For these to be effective, they must completely block the ear canal. various size It is sold in t. When using, care must be taken to ensure that they are clean and do not irritate the external
ear canal.
The headphones cover the whole ear and the two headphones are connected to each other with a band. To be effective, it must close the auricle
tightly.
Fully applied earplugs and headphones reduce the intensity of sound by 15 to 30dB. Although the two are equally
effective, earplugs are more effective at low frequencies and headphones are more effective at high frequencies.
When used together, they provide an additional 10-15dB more protection. If the noise is higher than 105dB, it is recommended that they be used together.
Why can't I just cover my ears with cotton?
Simple cotton and papers inserted into the ear canal cannot prevent the sound very effectively; they can only be as loud as 7dB
br /> They reduce it.
What are the general problems of hearing protectors?
It has been determined that workers who use this type of hearing protector are protected with less than half of the mandatory protection
level. The reason for this is that the protectors are not used appropriately and continuously.
Protectors that provide 30dB protection when used continuously for eight hours, for example, if they are not worn for only one hour, their protection drops to 9dB.
In addition, exposure to noise accumulates. Noise encountered at home or at play should also
be added to the daily limit. If the maximum daily dose has been reached at the workplace, being in a noisy environment or listening to loud music will cause the safety limit to be exceeded.
Can I hear other people or the sound of machines while using hearing protectors?
Just as sunglasses make vision easier, hearing protectors help understand conversations more clearly despite the surrounding noise. Even in a noise-free environment, people who use hearing protectors can hear a normal conversation.
It is sometimes claimed that workers who wear hearing protection do not hear the machine making a distorted sound, but
After a while, workers get used to it. They hear and notice the change in voice.
What can happen if my hearing is damaged? What can I do?
Hearing loss usually develops over years. You may not notice it because it is painless and gradual. You may notice the ringing sound that occurs when exposed to loud sounds for a long time. You may not understand what people are saying, especially in noisy environments. This may be the beginning of high frequency hearing
loss and your hearing needs to be tested.
Sometimes these conditions are caused by just earwax or an ear infection and can be easily treated. But
Hearing loss caused by noise may also occur. Since this situation is permanent, precautions should not be abandoned
. When you doubt your hearing loss, consult an ear, nose and throat physician. Your doctor
will reveal your hearing problem and recommend the best treatment method.
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