Prevention of NIHL

Introduction

The modern society is propelled to very high levels ofachievement because of the technological and industrial revolution. Inevitablething is that the world has gradually become a very noisy place to live in.Noise pollution is slowly becoming a very hazardous harmful factor which mayhave a negative effect on many lives everywhere around the globe. The measureused for the intensity of sound is decibel. Traffic jams, boom boxes, gunshots,leaf blowers and car alarms are just some of the examples of sources of manydecibels which may harm one’s health. Some people think that living at a farmis a lucky escape from all those sources of noise pollution, but most of themforget the fact that even farmers are exposed to a lot of noise which comesfrom their farm machinery. Not all people are aware that some noise sources donot have to be unwanted or even unpleasant. The pounding of a jackhammer orloud music at a rock concert may provide equal amounts of damage to the innerear. All different types of acoustic energies of same intensity are equallydangerous, no matter what their source is. If a person experiences repeated orcontinuous exposure to sounds characterized by high intensity they may sufferan acoustic trauma to the ear. The trauma may be responsible for dizziness,ringing in the ears, hearing loss, and sometimes even certain other medicalconditions such as increased blood pressure or increased heart rate. One shouldbe well aware that noise is the most common cause of irreversible sensorineuralhearing loss. Good news is that it can be prevented.

Description

When the inner eat gets struck by excessive sound energy theacoustic trauma occurs. If the trauma is brief it may cause only a temporaryhearing loss. Sometimes a person needs to take some oral steroids in order torecover from the symptoms of temporary hearing loss. When a person experiencesexcessively loud noise for prolonged periods of time it usually leads to a conditionwhich is commonly known as noise-induced hearing loss. This medical conditioncannot be reversed and it cannot be cured. Acute acoustic trauma is a suddenhearing loss caused by sudden very loud noises. If the eardrum gets ruptured,it may even require a surgical intervention.

Prevention

One needs to be aware of the fact that hearing protectors shouldbe worn in noisy environments. They do not prevent the person fromcommunicating with others.