| Importance of Looking after Your Hearing | | | | Watch for the signs and be aware that they can |
| Hearing protection is vital to maintaining proper | | | | be avoided with proper protection. If you notice |
| communication and physical safety. Can you | | | | any of the symptoms below, contact a health |
| imagine driving your car and not hearing a siren | | | | care professional specializing in hearing to have |
| until it is right next to you? Or not hearing your | | | | your hearing tested. |
| child cry out in pain? A life without proper hearing | | | | Look for: |
| can be difficult and sometimes dangerous. Not to | | | | Finding it difficult to understand speech; if you find |
| mention how the average person will assume a | | | | you can hear some words but not make out all |
| person is less than intelligent before they will | | | | of them |
| realize the problem lies with a hearing loss. | | | | ÂYTinnitus (a ringing or buzzing in the ears |
| One of the most common causes of permanent | | | | right after being exposed to loud noises |
| hearing loss is excessive noise. Exposure to | | | | ÂYSounds being muffled and difficult to hear |
| excessively loud sounds for an extended period | | | | after departing a loud area |
| of time can cause irreversible nerve damage to | | | | Hearing protection is just as important as wearing |
| the inner ear. The longer the exposure to loud | | | | sports safety equipment. Sure, you could play |
| sounds, the more apt there is to be a chance of | | | | football without a helmet or padding, but your |
| hearing loss. | | | | chances of getting hurt would certainly increase. It |
| OSHA standards state that, to the unprotected | | | | makes common sense to wear the proper |
| ear, sustained exposure to noise over 85 decibels | | | | football gear just as wearing a bicycle safety |
| will cause gradual hearing loss in the majority of | | | | helmet is now accepted because it has become a |
| people. The louder the noise, the faster this | | | | proven method of protection. As we progress in |
| damage occurs. To illustrate this further, the | | | | our knowledge and technology, we have the |
| allowed exposure time goes down by one-half for | | | | ability to make the world as safer and more |
| each 5 decibels over the normal limit of 85 | | | | enjoyable environment. |
| decibels. | | | | Ear protection needs to be an everyday |
| Protecting the ear is fundamental to preventing | | | | occurrence when you are going to be exposed to |
| sensorineural damage, more commonly known as | | | | higher and louder than normal noise levels. There |
| nerve damage. Nerve damage can be a very | | | | are many types of hearing protection specifically |
| sneaky culprit when it comes to hearing loss. The | | | | designed for different circumstances. Consult your |
| damage may be gradual and is often painless. | | | | audiologist to discover the best protection for |
| Usually, by the time a person notices their hearing | | | | you. |
| loss problem it is too late to correct it. | | | | |