Hearing Loss Prevention Across the Lifespan
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More than 1 billion teenagers and young adults are at risk of hearing loss due to the unsafe use of personal audio devices, including smartphones, and exposure to damaging levels of sound at noisy entertainment venues such as nightclubs, bars and sporting events, according to WHO1. Although noisy occupations such as construction, mining, and manufacturing are primary causes of hearing loss in adults, non-occupational noise also can damage hearing2. Some of the sounds of daily life, including those made by lawn mowers, recreational vehicles, power tools, and music, might play a role in the decline in hearing health. The decline is a result of mechanical and metabolic exhaustion in cochlea, the major organ responsible for resilience of sound, due to prolonged high-level noise exposure3.
Hearing health has important implications for general health and well-being. Both children and adults with hearing loss face significant educational and social challenges. Research by Kuppler et al. have reported that unilateral hearing loss can be detrimental to the academic success of children. Effects encompass not only auditory effects such as difficulty hearing in noise, but also self-esteem and exhaustion4. Likewise, adults with hearing loss are reported to have higher levels of unemployment and lower quality of life than their hearing peers. In another review by Davis et al., it has been reported that amongst the older individuals, hearing disability is associated with accelerated cognitive decline, poorer balance, increased falls, hospitalizations, and early mortality5. In addition to these medical consequences, there are also social functioning implications including social isolation due to reduced communication, loss of autonomy, and financial decline.
Therefore, creating hearing loss awareness is critical to help people navigate through different life stages. Patients and their families should understand that a healthy hearing lifestyle begins even before conception, and pregnant and nursing mothers should avoid alcohol and other drugs6. Families with a history of hearing loss should be especially vigilant in monitoring their babies' hearing. At the same time, a greater responsibility is on the audiologists in helping people protect their hearing.
Audiologists know that healthy hearing in the early childhood years is critically important in the development of speech and language. A healthy lifestyle and careful parental oversight can reduce or prevent illnesses associated with chronic middle ear conditions, and medical intervention should be sought when needed. Noise reduction and avoidance can prevent hearing loss or slow its progression. Persons can protect themselves by moving away or taking breaks from loud sounds, using quieter consumer products, lowering volumes on personal listening devices, reducing time listening to loud levels of music, and using hearing protectors. Hearing protectors need to fit well to reduce noise exposures effectively. Health care providers can inform patients about hearing loss symptoms, early diagnosis of hearing loss, and prevention strategies. Policymakers, governments, and manufacturers of equipment can develop policies to reduce noise levels and limit noise exposures of the public. Increasing awareness and reducing needless exposures to loud noise might help the public take appropriate steps to protect their hearing.
References
- https://www.voanews.com/science-health/more-1-billion-people-risk-hearing-loss-loud-music
- Murphy et al., CDC Grand Rounds: Promoting Hearing Health Across the Lifespan. 2018.
- Jain RK, Pingle SK, Tumane RG, et al. Cochlear Proteins Associated with Noise-induced Hearing Loss: An Update. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2018;22(2):60-73. doi:10.4103/ijoem.IJOEM_43_18.
- Fasanya B.K., Strong J.D. (2019) Younger Generation Safety: Hearing Loss and Academic Performance Degradation Among College Student Headphone Users. In: Arezes P. (eds) Advances in Safety Management and Human Factors. AHFE 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 791. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94589-7_51.
- Davis A, McMahon CM, Pichora-Fuller KM, et al. Aging and Hearing Health: The Life-course Approach. Gerontologist. 2016;56 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S256-S267. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw033.
- https://www.hear-it.org/Protect-your-unborn-baby-against-hearing-loss
