Teens' activities can lead to premature hearing loss
By: Leigh Ann Laube

When Carol Runyan sees young people in her office, she doesn't beat around the bush. She tells them she'll see them again when they're in their 40s - and she'll be fitting them with hearing aids. Runyan, an audiologist with Ear, Nose & Throat Associates of Kingsport, is seeing more and more kids with hearing loss.

"They're not aware [a hearing loss] is happening. When I see a kid, it's because the parents are concerned," she said.
Aside from the obvious culprits - car stereos and personal CD players - hearing loss is more and more being attributed to what Runyan says is prolonged exposure to recreational entertainment - ATVs, dirt bikes, Jet Skis.
"They're going to pay the price," she said. "These teens now are going to be in this office when they're 40."

According to the American Academy of Audiology, more than 28 million Americans suffer from hearing loss, making it one of the most prevalent chronic health conditions in this country.

There are three types of hearing loss - sensorineural, conductive and mixed.

Sensorineural (or nerve-related) hearing loss, involves damage to the inner ear caused by aging, pre-natal and birth-related problems; medications; viral and bacterial infections; heredity; trauma; exposure to loud nose; abnormal fluid volume; or a benign tumor in the inner ear. Many people with this type of hearing loss can be effectively treated with hearing aids.

Conductive hearing loss, which involves the outer and middle ear, can be caused by blockage of wax, punctured eardrum, birth defects, ear infection or heredity. This can often be effectively treated medically or surgically.
Mixed hearing loss refers to a combination of sensorineural and conductive loss and means that a problem occurs in both the outer or middle and the inner ear.

Exposure to loud noise damages the cells in your ear that respond to sound waves, said. audiologist Heather Light, with Kingsport Hearing Center. "The sound waves come in, hit the eardrum and go to the cochlea. On the cochlea, imagine a field of wheat, which are hair cells. The cells blow over. After repeated damage, they don't come back up. They don't regenerate," Light said. Because the delicate cells governing high frequency sounds are located in the ear at the beginning of the cochlea, they are the most vulnerable and often the first to go, Light said.

A single extreme noise - a gunshot, firecracker or explosion - can be as damaging as being chronically exposed to high decibel noises.
More and more, Runyan said, hearing loss is as a result of recreational activities. "The louder the level, the less time before you get permanent, irreversible damage," she said.

"Nine of out 10 hunters don't wear ear protection because they say they can't hear what's coming," she said. "Racing is a big thing here. Bristol Motor Speedway has unbelievably high noise levels down in the pit area. They're unacceptably loud."
You don't need fancy, expensive ear protection to take care of your ears at the speedway, Runyan said, and the ear protection sold at the racetrack - as long as it's worn correctly - is good.

"Hunting is the No. 1 cause of loss after aging," Light said. "One bullet is equal to 40 hours a week of loud noise."
Electronic hearing protection, available for hunters, allows them to hear, but offers protection when a gun is fired, Light said, and custom ear plugs are available for motorcyclists.

Kids like music, Runyan said, and unfortunately, they like their music loud. Not only is a loud car stereo unsafe for your ears, it's unsafe for your life. "They don't hear somebody coming. They don't hear the horn. They don't hear the other car coming. They don't hear the ambulance," Runyan said. "Why can you even buy a car stereo with sound that loud? They take toys off the market every year with noise levels that are unsafe," she said.

If you can't carry on a conversation at normal levels with a passenger in the front seat of your car, the music is too loud, Runyan said.
"Kids don't think anything happens to them. ... When they turn 15, 16, they don't think what could happen to them when they're 40, as a result of what they've done."

Personal CD players offer an output level significantly higher than in years past, she said.
"They make CD players with parental control locks - although they're hard to find - where you can lock the volume at a certain point," she said. The volume is too loud through your headphones if someone standing two feet away can also hear your music.

Occupational activities - mowing the lawn, operating farm equipment, using power tools - can also be causes of hearing loss in youth in this area. "Mowing the lawn, that's your chore? Fine. But mow the lawn with ear plugs," she said. "All of these things over time will cause a problem."

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National Institutes of Health, noise-induced hearing loss is the most common workplace disorder and the second most self-reported occupational illness or injury. Thirty million workers are at risk for noise-induced hearing loss, and 10 million Americans already have it.
"I think the public has a big awareness of occupational exposure," Runyan said. "It's really good. Nobody wants to lose their hearing because of their job."

While surveys have found that most people realize that ringing in their ears is a warning sign of damage, getting them to always wear ear protection is another story. Only 27 percent of participants in one survey said they knew how to take care of their hearing.
"Telling people to wear ear protection is like telling them to wear sunscreen," said Danielle Tousinau, a clinical audiologist at The Hearing Center at Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center. "Most people don't wear anything, don't understand and don't care."

So how loud is too loud? According to the NIDCD, any noise 80 decibels and above can cause damage. Prolonged exposure to any noise above 90 decibels (examples: lawn mower, motorcycle) can cause gradual hearing loss. At 100 decibels (example: wood shop), no more than 15 minutes unprotected exposure is recommended. Regular exposure of more than one minute at 110 decibels (example: chain saw) risks permanent hearing loss. An ordinary conversation is approximately 60 decibels, while city traffic noise can reach 80 decibels.

According to the American Academy of Audiology, you may have hearing loss if:

• Others accuse you of turning the television too loud.
• Others accuse you of not paying attention.
• You misunderstand 50 for 15 or 60 for 16.
• You can hear better with one ear than the other on the phone.
• You have trouble understanding someone speaking to you from another room.
• You have difficulty understanding speech when there is background noise.
• You have a history of ear infections, earaches or running ears.

"Even if you have hearing loss, it's never too late to protect the hearing you have left," Tousinau said.

Just the Facts
Research conducted among people aged 18 to 30 in October 2002 revealed that:

• 66 percent of young people (ages 18 to 30) go clubbing at least once a month. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, the number rises to 82 percent.
• 73 percent of people who have ever been to a club, gig, concert or festival have had ringing in their ears after a night out.
• 66 percent of those those surveyed said they regularly experienced ringing in their ears.
• 64 percent considered that losing their hearing would have a huge impact on their lives.
• 46 percent of those interviewed knew that ringing in their ears is a warning sign of damage.
• 59 percent did not realize the damage could be permanent.
• 27 percent of those interviewed said they knew how to take care of their hearing.
• 80 percent knew about the risk of high volume to their hearing, but only half knew that the length of time of exposure also affects the likely damage.

Source: youth.hear-it.org
For more information about hearing loss, visit audiology.org or nidcd.nih.gov.

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