According to senior audiologist Marc Vandenberg, hearing loss is a common problem caused by loud noise, aging and heredity. But the most common causes are ageing and loud noise.
"Some have it due to a particular syndrome or an additional disability. There are reasons that you can acquire hearing loss as well for example an illness that sometimes cause hearing loss. If you’ve also worked in a lot of loud noise. Over time and even if it was 30, 40, 50 years ago that can have an impact on your hearing as you’re getting older," says Mr Vandenberg.
How do you protect your ears?
Avoid loud noises
Mr Vandenberg says that one of the most easiest ways to look after your ear health is to avoid loud noise as best as you can. If you are using a lawn mower or working with loud noise, ensure that it’s not a level that’s going to damage your hearing.
Use a personal listener
The other common thing people do nowadays is the use of personal listeners.
"Sometimes you sit beside a person in the train and then you can hear their music through their ears that’s a very dangerous situation to be in. So, I would always encourage people to limit the amount of loud noise that they hear through those sorts of listener," says Mr Vandenberg.
Personal listeners are small, personal amplifiers that are used for communicating with other people in noisy places, in the workplace or during group activities.
Get a hearing test
He encourages the people to get a hearing test.
"If there’s a concern people should not suffer in silence. It's better to seek action earlier to find out and address any issues."
"It’s a 10-minute free test. You’ll have a quick indicator as to whether your hearing is okay or perhaps take some further action if you need it."
What can be done to make listening safe?
Mr Vandenberg recommends keeping sound levels at somewhere between 60 and 85 decibels to minimise the damage your ears are exposed to.
“Something round about 70 decibels is within the safe range. Anything below that is safe.”
If exposed to loud music, he advises to restrict usage to within 15 minutes.
“If the sound is loud, you must be around it for a less period. It’s what we call dosage of noise. If it’s softer noise, you can spend longer time amongst it. But things like headphones, if they’re very loud, you should really avoid it where possible and spend a little time with loud noises when you can,” he shares.
