The hazards of noise-induced deafness (1)

First of all, noise is a kind of sound that causes irritation or is too loud to harm human health. Noise not only affects hearing but also has adverse effects on the cardiovascular system, nervous system, and endocrine system of humans, so some people call noise "deadly chronic poison". So does noise affect hearing? Actually not, harmful noise has the following four characteristics:

1. The noise is strong, making it difficult to talk to each other;

2. After working in a noisy environment for several hours, you will feel dizzy and have tinnitus;

3. After being stimulated by noise, you will have a temporary hearing loss that lasts for several hours;

4. The noise is strong enough to cause ear pain.

Noise can be roughly divided into three categories: social life noise (such as noise from KTV, bars, and washing machines), occupational noise (such as noise from factories and construction sites), and traffic noise (such as noise from cars and airplanes). However, it is worth noting that not all noise is harmful to human health. The degree of hearing loss caused by noise is mainly related to its intensity and exposure time. The greater the intensity, the longer the exposure time, the earlier the hearing damage occurs, and the more serious the damage. When the noise intensity exceeds 85~90dB (A), it may cause damage to the cochlea, leading to noise-induced deafness. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States stipulates that long-term exposure to noise levels of 85 dB (A) or above may pose a risk of noise-induced hearing loss, which is commonly used internationally. The time it takes for different intensities of noise to cause hearing damage

So what is noise-induced deafness? Noise-induced deafness, also known as noise-induced hearing damage, is a slow, progressive sensorineural deafness that occurs when the auditory system is exposed to noise for a long time. In the early stage, it is manifested by a decrease in auditory sensitivity and discrimination, which can gradually recover after leaving the noise, but it becomes difficult to recover over time, and severe cases may develop into progressive sensorineural deafness, accompanied by tinnitus, dizziness, insomnia, and other systemic symptoms, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Its two most important symptoms are hearing loss and tinnitus.

Hearing loss: It is manifested as a slow, progressive loss of hearing, some of which are only discovered after several years of exposure to noise.

Tinnitus: It is generally manifested as a "bell-like" or "ringing" or "buzzing" sound. Generally, when there is moderate hearing loss, there is tinnitus.

I believe that everyone has a preliminary understanding of noise-induced deafness, so how can we prevent it? If we fail to prevent it in time and it leads to noise-induced hearing damage, how can we intervene? Look forward to our next episode of science content!