Survey: Noise pollution affects hearing

mardi 27.04.2010

 

According to a survey conducted by Hear the World exposure to high noise levels was found to not only result in gradual hearing loss, but also stress, aggression or insomnia in 73 percent of those surveyed. The international survey, which polled 4,405 people between the ages of 14-65 years old in the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Italy, found that close to 50 percent of those surveyed have felt “trapped” by noise in the past.

Noise is one of the most common causes of hearing loss. In fact, according to the Better Hearing Institute, 10 million Americans have already suffered irreversible hearing damage from noise and 30 million are exposed to dangerous noise levels each day – leading to more than 800 million people worldwide living with hearing loss.

“Outside of a loud occupational setting, the impact of noise on hearing is often underestimated because the damage may take place gradually. As a result, many people do little to prevent the process of hearing loss that takes place throughout their lives due to the noise pollution around them,” said Dr. Craig Kasper, Chief Audiology Officer of Audio Help Hearing Centers. “Better Hearing and Speech Month is the perfect time to take a moment to think about what you are doing to take care of your hearing and to encourage others to do the same.”

According to the survey, the top five noise sources causing the most annoyance were people, who are listening to music without earphones or using their cellular phones in public, construction and street noise and the noise of animals like barking dogs.

“The findings of the Hear the World survey emphasize a very important issue – which is that with today’s noisy environment, everyone needs to be proactive about preventing and/or managing their hearing loss,” said Valentin Chapero, CEO of Phonak. “The first step is to speak with your local hearing health professional about an annual hearing screening and how to protect yourself against excessive noise around you.”

» How loud is too loud?