There are several ways you can protect your ears from damage due to loud noise. The good news? Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is entirely preventable. Yet, the damage caused to your ears from exposure to such levels of excessive noise can be permanent. Loud noises are everywhere and often go hand-in-hand with socializing or recreational activities such as concerts and sporting events. How to Protect Your Hearing From Dangerous Noise Levels This is a clear indicator that we should be taking steps towards protecting our hearing when spending time in this level of noise. For example, the decibel chart tells us that a concert is routinely 120 dB, and NIOSH recommends less than 10 seconds of exposure time to this level of sound. NIOSH gives the following recommendations on how long it is safe to be around different continuous noise levels without wearing hearing protection:Ĭomparing the decibel chart with the NIOSH guidelines can help us determine whether we could be damaging our hearing due to exposure to noisy environments. Therefore, for every 3 dBAs, the recommended exposure time halves. It is mandatory to wear hearing protection when working around noise levels of 85 dBA and above.įor every increase of 3 dBA, the sound intensity doubles. To minimize NIHL in the workplace, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that the work environment should be no louder than 85 dBA over 8 hours. Safe Exposure Times for Different Noise Levels Loud noise above 120 dBA is particularly dangerous and can cause immediate harm to your ears.Ī general rule of thumb is if you are speaking to someone at arm's length and need to raise your voice for them to hear you, the noise level in the environment is probably above 85 dB and could cause damage to your hearing over time. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend maintaining environmental noises below 70 dBA over 24 hours to prevent NIHL.Īny sound at or above 85 dBA could cause damage to your hearing over time. It places more value on frequencies in the middle of human hearing and less value on low and very high frequencies. The main difference is that the dBA measurement takes into account the sensitivity of the human ear to different frequencies of sound. When comparing sound levels of different noises and their potential for causing hearing damage, A-weighted decibels (dBA) are often used instead of dB. Some symptoms of NIHL include difficulty understanding speech and needing to turn the volume up on the television. Since noise-induced hearing loss often occurs gradually, those affected may not realize until the damage is already done. More often though, hearing loss develops over time from repeated exposure to loud noise. A one-time exposure to very loud noise, such as a firework blast close to your ear, can cause NIHL. High noise exposure can damage the delicate hearing hair cells in the ear, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). 120 dB - Thunder, concerts, a jet plane taking off.90 dB - Hairdryers, blenders, power tools.80 dB - Police car siren, a noisy restaurant.60 dB - Normal conversation, dishwashers.
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