Covid has taken over the normalcy of life. Working from home has become the new normal. With this, the use of earphones/ headphones has increased drastically and everyone wants to know what exactly is noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

Ear problems from noise

Noise-induced hearing loss is caused by being around loud noises over a long period of time or sudden exposure to very loud noise for a short period like a gunshot or explosion. The extent of damage depends on the loudness, pitch, and length of the time of exposure. The loudness of the sound and the length are related. The louder the sound the more damage can occur in a shorter time. In NIHL there is damage to the inner ear.

NIHL sometimes go unnoticed as it is not painful like how people perceive it to be. The symptoms are usually fullness in the ear, unable to hear soft sounds, speech that seems muffled, or a ringing sensation in the ear.

The signs that the noise around you is too loud are if you have to shout to be heard above the noise, if you can’t understand someone who is speaking to you from less than 2 feet away or if a person standing near you can hear sounds from your stereo headset while it is on your head.

NIHL is diagnosed by doing pure tone audiometry (hearing test). There is no permanent cure for hearing loss. The best is prevention. But if affected, the individual will require a hearing aid or in case of profound hearing loss a cochlear implant.

The different ways to prevent or avoid hearing loss include reducing your exposure to noise. This step is especially important for people who work in noisy places and who go to and from work in noisy city traffic or who attend party/official gatherings often. Special earmuffs that protect your ears are available for people who work in noisy environments (such as around heavy machinery). You can also reduce your exposure to noise by choosing quiet leisure activities rather than noisy ones.

Develop the habit of wearing ear muffs when you know you will be exposed to noise for a long time.  Don’t use several noisy machines at the same time. Try to keep television sets, stereos, and headsets low in volume. Loudness is a habit that can be broken. Don’t try to drown out unwanted noise with other sounds. For example, don’t turn up the volume on your car radio or headset to drown out traffic noise or turn up the television volume while vacuuming. Has your hearing checked if you are regularly exposed to loud noise at work or play? Or else you may have ear problems from noise.

The expert team led by Dr. Satish Nair at “the EAR Institute” offer diagnosis, treatment, and counseling sessions to patients with noise-induced hearing loss.