Hearing loss

Long-term exposure to noise can lead to loss of hearing. The relative loudness of sounds is measured in decibels. Just to give you an idea of what this means, the sound of a whisper is 30 decibels while a normal conversation is 60 decibels. The noise a vacuum cleaner makes is around 85 decibels. The danger zone, the risk of injury, begins at around 90. Continual exposure to sounds above 90 decibels can damage your hearing. Loud noises, especially when they come at you every day, all this noise can damage the delicate hair cells in your inner ear. Lots of everyday noises are bad for us in the long run. For example, a car horn sounds at around 100 decibels. A rock band at close range is 125 decibels. A jet engine at close range is one of the worst culprits at an ear-busting 140 decibels. The first thing to go is your high-frequency hearing, where you detect the consonant sounds in words. That's why a person with hearing loss can hear voices but has trouble understanding what's being said.