The Risk Of Damage To Our Hearing
Sound is measured in decibels, db and just like a thermometer; they have a range of sound. This goes from 0 db to 165 db or above but at what measurement do we become at risk of damage to our hearing?
- The average person can hear sounds down to about 0 dB,
- A typical conversation occurs at 60 dB - not loud enough to cause damage.
- If a sound reaches 85 dB or stronger, it can cause permanent damage to your hearing.
85 db is considered the most the human ear should be exposed to which would be the sound of city traffic at its busiest time. Unfortunately there are jobs where this is exceeded to as high as 165 db or over.
Your average night club is pushing out sounds that will go to 120 db and over, fine on a night out but what about the people who work there, hour after hour, night after night. Farmers will go from 95 on a tractor to 165 with a 12 gauge shot gun and all the other equipment in between.
Even a hair dresser may be at risk over a life time of work when you consider that the average hair dryer can reach 90 to 100 db’s of sound pressure. The factory setting with press machines and other loud equipment can also cause severe hearing loss.
There are some sounds that can damage the delicate hair type structures of the ear in one go. The 12 gauge shot gun will deafen almost any ear in a split second and the effects can and most usually be permanent.
The ear is a complex peice of equipment with the potential to hear as low as -15 db’s in someone with good hearing. Sound enters our ears and the tiny hair cells of the cochlea feel the vibration that comes from the sound. This sends electric signals to the auditory nerve so that the brain can process the sound and make sense of it.
There are different hair cells to measure the different frequencies produced by sound and the level of sound will depend on the damage done. The most common are hair cells to become damage are called stereo cilia and when enough of these become damage or completely broken, hearing will be lost forever.
It is estimated that over 22 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise on the job and an additional nine million are at risk for hearing loss from other agents such as solvents and metals so with this in mind the need for PPE in the work place is essential.
Most work places will have ear guards for employees to wear while operating machinery that is too loud and above normal and acceptable db’s to avoid over exposure to sound.
The truth is though that the world is full of niose and sound. We expose ourselves to noise for pleasure as well as work and just going from one place to another may expose us to sound that are too loud.
We can’t avoid all noise pollution but remember, the world is a loud, busy place and some sounds are so much louder than you might think, I mean, Have you ever wondered how loud your dogs bark is or your own voice while you’re shouting at the kids?
Food for thought I’d say.
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