No One Dared Disturb The Sound Of Silence (Because The Hearing Loss Was Permanent)

Ear Anatomy

The ear is a complicated and delicate series of membranes, bones and hairs. When the ear becomes damaged, hearing loss is often permanent and can be very difficult to remedy. Because of this, it is extremely important to monitor sound levels within a workplace. There are many occupations in which hearing damage is a very real issue. Hearing loss is the second most common occupational ailment reported by workers in America. This problem can be especially bad for people working in industrial settings, carpenters and people working in construction. 

Sounds are measured in decibels. For each five decibels increase in sound, the occupational exposure limit decreases by one half. For example, in an environment with a sound level of 90 decibels an employee can be exposed to the noise for 8 hours. When the sound increases to 95 decibels, the employee can only be exposed to the noise for 4 hours. After the limit of time has been reached, the employee's position must be taken over by a different employee, or they simply must finish the hazardously noisy task for the day.

Noise reduction can be can be implemented in various ways. Noise reducing headphones or ear plugs are a good way to reduce noises when the source of the hazardous sound cannot be engineered out. OSHA standard noise reducing ear plugs can reduce the the exposure by 27 decibels. The OSHA standard ear muffs have an NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) of 22. 

In most cases, it is more beneficial to engineer the noises out as much as possible. This can be done by setting up various sound absorbing barriers. The barriers can be made of various materials, such as foam and glass. They should be set up in such a way that it blocks the employee from the sound as much as possible. If the sound can be engineered out, hearing protection will not be necessary. 

When hearing loss occurs, the Standard Threshold Shift is the loss of an average of 10 decibels or more in one or both of the ears. 

Kitchen Classic Rock Jam Sesh

Bedroom Silent Chill Sesh

I used the iPhone app Decibel 10 to measure the decibels in my kitchen when I play music. I typically jam out while I cook. The average decibel level was 91.0 while the maximum was 105.2. I used the same app to measure the decibel level in my bedroom, where I typically keep it pretty quiet. The average decibel level was 57.9 while the maximum decibel level was 72.0.

Hearing loss is not only an issue in occupational settings. Damage can occur simply from having the volume in headphones up too loud or from going to too many concerts. There are various ways that the ear can be damaged. In some cases, the damage occurs on the auditory nerves. When these nerve cells are damaged the damage CANNOT be reversed. In some cases, even hearing aids will have no affect. 

We only get one set of ears, so it is extremely important to protect them! They are extremely delicate and can be damaged without us even being aware of it. It is extremely important to limit noise in occupational settings and to try to keep damaging sounds out of our daily lives as much as possible.