As you age you will likely suffer some degree of hearing loss. While age does play a role in hearing loss many young people are suffering loss as well. Recent studies show, among citizens above age 12, as many as one in five, has some degree of hearing loss in one or both ears. Having your hearing tested and corrected with Oticon hearing aids can fix your hearing problems. However, you need to also identify the factors that led to the loss, so they can be taken care of as well.
Aging and genetics certainly can be a factor in hearing loss, but the loss of hearing in our youth can be due to a variety of preventable causes. It seems everyone these days have ear pieces plugged into their ears. Headphones to listen to music, headsets for their phones and gaming headsets. The majority of those wearing gaming headsets and headphones have the volume set too high. Telling a person doing this that they will go deaf, whether they are 14 or 30, will usually get you the standard answer, “I can hear just fine.” This is most likely true, for now they can hear fine. Hearing loss can be a slow, steady cumulative process. You will not have any noticeable hearing loss, in normal hearing ranges, until one day it is too late. With Oticon hearing aids, you can restore your hearing to near normal again. But, it would be better, if you can prevent as much damage as possible.
If you are wearing headphones or a headset on high volume or are consistently exposed to loud sounds of some sort, it all has the same effect on your hearing. Sound waves pass through the ear canal to the tiny hairs cells in the inner ear. The sound waves move the hair cells which send signals to your brain allowing you to hear the sound. If the sound coming into the ear canal is too loud it can damage the tiny hair cells, causing them to die.
The natural question is, how loud is too loud? This question is hard to answer. Exposure time and how loud the sounds are play a large part in determining damage. The average MP3 player at the highest volume setting produces 115 decibels (dB). Exposure to 100 dB for just 15 minutes can cause some hearing loss. Levels as low as 85 dB for a prolonged time and repeated exposures are enough to cause damage. So even comparatively moderate sound levels can cause damage to your hearing if exposed for too long or too often.
Once gone, your hearing will never come back. The fewer the hair cells remaining, the less sensitive your hearing becomes. If enough damage is done you may reach a stage where even oticon hearing aids are unable to help.
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