The World Health Organisation recently stated that over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices. The Pioneer’s
Tejal Sinha speaks to experts and brings a detailed report on how to take care of one’s ears.
Be it for attending a Zoom call or listening to your favourite songs, headphones have become a huge part of our daily lives. In fact, with the advent of technology, we are always engaged with our smartphones. Right from studying to driving, and even sleeping, we end up using headphones most of the time in the day. This being an unhealthy lifestyle habit, it wreaks havoc on our bodies and minds.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently stated that over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices. Not just this, 80% of people with hearing loss are from low and middle-income countries, 430 million people require rehabilitation for their hearing loss currently; 25% of hearing loss occurs in people older than 60 and above; and 700 million people will require rehabilitation for their hearing loss by 2050.
Aren’t those some really disturbing statistics? Who would have thought that this one unhealthy habit that we thought was cool could have ended up being a lifetime issue?
Dr. Sudhipta Ghose, an ENT specialist, stresses, “The louder the volume, the higher the effect, and thus, it is advised that one should use it for a shorter duration.
Even when you try to increase the volume, there’s this notification that comes in your phone alerting you to the maximum volume. However, people just ignore it. Avoiding excessive use of listening devices altogether will go a long way towards preventing hearing loss. When sound waves reach our ears, they cause the eardrum to vibrate. When you listen to sounds that are too loud for too long, these hair cells lose their sensitivity to vibration. Many loud noises cause the cells to bend or fold over. This is what causes the sensation of “temporary hearing loss” after you are exposed to loud noises.
The hair cells take time to recover from extreme vibrations caused by loud noise. In some extreme cases, the cells never recover. They may be too damaged to function normally any longer. This leads to lasting hearing loss.This type of noise-induced hearing damage is almost impossible to recover from. No cure exists for repairing a damaged inner ear.”
Once the damage to your ear is done, it’s done. Sadly, in extreme cases, there’s no chance to reverse it.
Highlighting the treatment of hearing loss, Dr. Viraj Reddy shares, “The best method of hearing loss treatment is prevention. A change in unhealthy listening practises is a preventable condition. It’s easy to take steps to prevent hearing damage through headphone use. If you don’t want to damage your hearing permanently, all you have to do is use the wealth of information we have available to make smart choices and protect your ears. Awareness is a powerful thing.”
Now you might wonder, what could be the signs of ear disorders or infection? Here, the doctors share some symptoms to help you understand when it’s time to consult a specialist:
.Ear pain, especially when lying down
.Tugging or pulling at an ear
.Trouble sleeping
.Crying more than usual
.Fussiness
.Trouble hearing or responding to sounds
.Loss of balance
.Fever of 100 F (38 C) or higher
.Drainage of fluid from the ear
.Headache
.Loss of appetite
Symptoms:
.Symptoms last for more than a day.
.Symptoms are present in a child less than 6 months of age.
.Ear pain is severe.
.Your infant or toddler is sleepless or irritable after a cold or other upper respiratory infection.
.You observe a discharge of fluid, pus, or bloody fluid from the ear.
.Healthy habits to protect your ears
.Invest in noise-cancelling headphones.
.Maintain low volume.
.Reduce exposure to loud music.
.Take listening breaks.
.Get your regular check-up done.
