by Morgan Johnson

Created on: March 16, 2008   Last Updated: April 24, 2008

Hearing protection should start young and lasts a lifetime. The first experience most people have with hearing related decisions is with personal entertainment devices.

In the old days, parents used to bang on doors and ceilings telling teens to "Turn that noise down!" Sometimes they were successful. The teen might lower their volume knob from 10 down to 6for a while. All too often damage to hearing has already begun.

The first widespread use of a personal music system was the Sony WALKMAN in 1979. It was a small cassette recorder with a set of small earbud-type stereo earphones. Since the tiny speakers dumped the sound directly into the ear canal there were few opportunities for parents to object to the volume.

Unfortunately, the aural inserts tended to focus the sound directly on the eardrum without any diffusion.

Hearing damage can be temporary or permanent depending on the source, volume and duration of noise exposure. They protect your hearing you need to understand how hearing is damaged to begin with.

Sound vibrations are detected by hair cells in s shell-shaped organ called the cochlea, a fluid filled series of canals that link the eardrum to the auditory nerve.

Sound is measured in units called decibels (dB) after Alexander Graham Bell. The "loudness" of a sound is a measure of its wave energy or air pressure. Sound becomes hazardous above 90dB.

Noise levels in the workplace are regulated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). However, hearing protection in nonworking environments is solely the responsibility of the individual.

Noise isn't just annoying it actually means potentially damaging sound. It comes on two categories: acute and chronic.

Acute noise exposure is a brief intense sound event like a hammer striking metal or an explosion. It can cause temporary hearing loss that usually fades after 20-60 minutes. It can also blow out the eardrum requiring medical attention.

One of the most hazardous environments for hearing is at the shooting range. Live gunfire can exceed 150dB acute noise even in an outdoor range. It is recommended that earmuff at a minimum should be worn. Frequently, the range provides an excellent combination of tinted eye protection with earmuffs to protect the hearing.

Chronic noise exposure is damaging at a lower dB because the agitation lasts for a longer period of time. The cilia of the cochlea are bent over and never fully recover. Examples of chronic noise hazards are jet engines, jackhammers, or rock

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