Safe Listening: Know Your Volume

Music promotes positive emotions and helps to reduce stress. We have easy access to music in our smartphones by listening with earphone or headphone. Both devices help us to enjoy and immerse ourselves into the world of music. 

We normally listen to music when we are stuck in the traffic jam, waiting for a train or buses, doing work in the office. When a good music is on it can tempt us to turn up the volume so that we mask out the surrounding noise.

Zahidah, Audiologist

But, do you know how loud you have been exposed?

On average, a smartphone could produce more than 100 decibels at its maximum volume. That is way too loud. Listening to a chainsaw or an electric drill annoys us but listening to music at same level soothe us. Sound emitted by a chainsaw could range from 100 to 120 decibels and sound emitted by an electric drill range from 95 to 100 decibels. In most cases, people do not hear at this level but volume selection is affected by the environment.

Do you know that listening at a maximum level, you can get hearing damaged in 15 minutes!

At half of the volume setting, an average smartphone could produce up to 70 to 80 decibels. This is similar to sound emitted by a vacuum cleaner or a lawnmower. It is still within the safe decibels level outlined by National Institute of Occupational Noise and Safety (NIOSH). However, hearing loss due to noise exposure depends on the duration, intensity of the noise and type of noise exposure. Most smartphones will display a warning message when you reach a limit. Ignoring this message will put your hearing at risk of damage.

You may not realize that hearing problem caused by music or recreational noise as it develop over a long period of time. After a year or even few months after a consistent listening to your personal listening device, you may experience ringing in the ear and listening to speech in a noisy environment will begin to be difficult. 

Then communicating will be a chore and the people around you will start to feel stress when talking to you. You will keep missing out informations and often ask for repetition. Your friends will now have to raise their voice and this will not be comfortable for you or to them. If you have these symptoms, it is time to make an appointment to see your Audiologist for hearing check-up and consultation.

World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 1.1 billion young people all over the world could have hearing problem due to unsafe listening habits. Music-induced hearing loss is preventable. But once you lost your hearing, it will never be the same.

So here some tips for a good listening habit:

1)      Earphone versus headphone

-   Look for noise-cancelling earphone or headphone that could reduce the needs to increase the volume in noisy environment however this may affect your safety on the roads.

-      Some say earphone is better as it is closer to your ear and reduce the need for higher volume. However, the closer the device is to your ear with a high volume, the higher the risk of it damaging your hearing

2)      Control your listening time by using 60/60 rule

-     Volume should not be more than 60% of its maximum level, for not more than 60 minutes of listening time

3)      Move away from noisy environment

-   This will reduce the needs to increase the volume

4)      Give your ear a time to recover from exposure to loud noises

5)    Don’t forget to wear protection if you work in a noisy environment or use a custom          made musicians earplugs.

Written by,

Zahidah

Audiologist

Ref:

http://counseling.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/coping-music_reduce_stress.pdf http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/154589/1/9789241508513_eng.pdf http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/Workshops-and-Seminars/safelistening/Documents/Standards_for_saf e_listening_devices_situation_analysis_report.pdf

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Types of hearing aids

Maybe you've thought about getting a hearing aid, but you're stressed about how it will look or whether it will really offer assistance. Hearing aids can't restore normal hearing, however they can improve your hearing by amplifying soft sounds, helping you hear sounds in difficult listening situation, such as, in noisy environment. These are the main concern before you get a get a hearing aid:

· The hearing aid options available to you

· What to look for when buying a hearing aid

· How to get used to it

How hearing aids work

Hearing aids use the same basic parts to carry sounds from the environment into your ear and make them louder. Most hearing aids are digital, and all are powered with a hearing aid battery.

Sounds from the environment are collected by the small microphone and then amplified by computer chip to converts the incoming sound into digital code. It analyse and adjusts the sound based on your hearing loss, listening needs and the level of the sounds around you. The amplified signals are then converted back into sound waves and delivered to your ears through speakers.

Amar, Audiologist

Hearing aid styles

Hearing aids vary a great deal in price, size, special features and the way they're placed in your ear.

The following are common hearing aid styles, starting with the smallest, least visible in the ear. Hearing aids are getting smaller as the technology grow in order to fulfil the demand that is not very noticeable. Remember, the smaller aids may not have enough power to cater with severe to profound hearing loss.

1) Completely in the canal (CIC) or mini CIC

A completely-in-the-canal hearing aid is customized to fit inside your ear canal. It can assist up to moderate hearing loss.

A completely-in-the-canal hearing aid:

·         Is the smallest and least visible type

·         Is less likely to pick up wind noise

·         Uses very small batteries, which have shorter life and can be difficult to handle

·         Doesn't contain extra features, such as volume control or a directional microphone

·         Is susceptible to earwax clogging the speaker

2) In the canal (ITC)

An in-the-canal (ITC) hearing aid is another customized hearing aid and fits partly in the ear canal. This style can cover from mild to severe hearing loss in adults.

An in-the-canal hearing aid:

·         Is less visible in the ear than larger styles

·         Includes features that won't fit on completely-in-the-canal aids, but may be difficult to adjust due to its small size

·         Is susceptible to earwax clogging the speaker

3) In the ear (ITE)

An in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid is custom made in two styles — one that fills most of the bowl-shaped area of your outer ear (full shell) and one that fills only the lower part (half shell). Both are helpful for people with mild to severe hearing loss.

An in-the-ear hearing aid:

·         Includes features that don't fit on smaller style hearing aids, such as a volume control

·         May be easier to handle

·         Uses a larger battery for longer battery life

·         Is susceptible to earwax clogging the speaker

·         May pick up more wind noise than smaller devices

·         Is more visible compared to ITC and CIC

4) Behind the ear (BTE)

A behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid hooks over the top of your ear and rests behind the ear. A tube connects the hearing aid to a custom earpiece called an earmold that fits in your ear canal. This type is appropriate for people of all ages and those with almost any type of hearing loss even profound level.

A behind-the-ear hearing aid:

·         The largest type of hearing aid

·         Is capable of more amplification than any other styles

·         May pick up more wind noise than other styles

5) Receiver in canal or receiver in the ear (RIC)

The receiver-in-canal (RIC) and receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) styles are similar to a behind-the-ear hearing aid with the speaker or receiver in the canal or in the ear. A tiny wire, rather than tubing, connects the pieces.

A receiver-in-canal hearing aid:

·         Has a less visible behind-the-ear portion

·         Is susceptible to earwax clogging the speaker

6) Open fit

An open-fit hearing aid is like behind-the-ear hearing aid but with a thin tube. This style keeps the ear canal very open, allowing for low-frequency sounds to enter the ear naturally and for high-frequency sounds to be amplified through the hearing aid. This makes the style a good choice for people with sloping loss at higher frequencies.

An open-fit hearing aid:

·         Is less visible

·         Making your own voice sound better to you

·         May be more difficult to handle and adjust due to small parts

Written by:

Amar Ruzai;

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