By Henrylito D. Tacio
“Once lost, hearing does not come back,” Dr. Shelly Chadha, technical officer of the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), once reminded.
Her statement is timely as ever as over one billion people, aged 12 to 34, are at risk of losing their hearing due to prolonged and excessive exposure to loud music and other high volume recreational noise, the WHO said.
The United Nations health agency said the number of people with hearing loss could rise to over 2.5 billion by 2030.
Most of those with impending hearing loss will come from younger generations. “Millions of teenagers and young people are at risk of hearing loss due to the unsafe use of personal audio devices and exposure to damaging sound levels at venues such as nightclubs, bars, concerts, and sporting events,” said Dr. Bente Mikkelsen, WHO Director for the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases.
“The risk is intensified as most audio devices, venues and events do not provide safe listening options and contribute to the risk of hearing loss,” the WHO official added.
In the Philippines, nearly one in six Filipinos has serious hearing problems, according to a study published in Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health. The study, “A National Survey of Hearing Loss in the Philippines,” was based on a national cross-sectional survey of hearing loss and ear disease conducted in 2011.
The overall prevalence of hearing loss in the Philippine population is 15%. The prevalence was 7.5% in children, 14.7% in adults between 18 and 65 years old, and 49.1% in adults aged 65 years or older.
What is alarming is that the pervasiveness is much higher with those from high-income countries. “The study found that the prevalence of hearing loss was comparatively high in the Philippines when compared with the rates of hearing loss reported in high-income countries,” said the study which was led by staff from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.
Expect more Filipinos to be hard of hearing in the coming years – thanks to the proliferation of gadgets like Ipods and MP3 Players.
“Most of the young people who have them don’t know that improper use of these gadgets can cause deafness,” deplores Dr. Willie T. Ong, an internist/cardiologist and book author.
“If you are sitting next to a friend and you can hear the music through his earphones, then that is already too loud,” says Dr. Ong, who is running for vice president in this coming May election.
“The worst damage you can inflict to your ears is to bombard it with loud sounds,” he points out. “Noise is the biggest threat to your hearing. If you tend to watch too many rock concerts, you will develop mild hearing loss and possibly tinnitus, which is ringing of the ears.”
“Noise damage is caused by both the intensity of the sound and the duration of the exposure,” explains Dr. Charles Kimmelman, professor of otolaryngology at Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital. “But because the effect of noise damage is cumulative, hearing loss from noise adds to the hearing loss you’ll get from aging.”
Noise – unwanted or harmful sound – is a pervasive pollution in society. It enters our ears as powerful waves of mechanical energy. Scientists measure sound intensity in decibels (db), with each doubling of energy adding three decibels.
Ordinary conversation measures about 60 db; a child’s scream hits around 90 db. On this logarithmic scale, the scream is potentially 1000 times more powerful. High-fidelity amplified music – be it rock or classical – from a sound box can pound as high as 110 db.
In the Philippines, the standard threshold of noise allowed is 85 dB for eight working hours.
Dr. Chadha laments that teenagers and young people “are at risk of hearing loss simply by doing what they really enjoy doing a lot, which is listening regularly to music through their headphones over their devices.”
She added: “At the moment, we don’t really have anything solid other than our instinct to tell us: are we doing this right, or is this something that is going to lead to tinnitus and hearing loss a few years down the line?”
Meanwhile, the new WHO standard aims to better safeguard young people as they enjoy their leisure activities.
“The global standard for safe listening at venues and events,” the WHO said in a statement, “highlights six recommendations for implementation to ensure that venues and events limit the risk of hearing loss to their patrons, while still preserving high-quality sound and an enjoyable listening experience.”
The six recommendations outline:
1. A maximum average sound level of 100 decibels.
2. Live monitoring and recording of sound levels using calibrated equipment.
3. Optimizing venue acoustics and sound systems to ensure enjoyable sound quality and safe listening.
4. Making personal hearing protection available to audiences including instructions on use.
5. Access to quiet zones for people to rest their ears and decrease the risk of hearing damage, and
6. Provision of training and information to staff.
Today’s younger generation can better protect their hearing by doing the following, according to WHO:
* Keeping the volume down on personal audio devices;
* Using well-fitted, and if possible, noise-cancelling earphones/headphones;
* Wearing earplugs at noisy venues; and
* Getting regular hearing check-ups.
Most sufferers live in poor and middle-income countries, the UN agency notes, adding that by 2050, more than 900 million people will have significantly impaired hearing. And about half of all cases of hearing loss could be prevented through public health measures.
“Given that we have the technological know-how to prevent hearing loss, it should not be the case that so many young people continue to damage their hearing while listening to music,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “They must understand that once they lose their hearing, it won’t come back.” – ###
