Did you know that 1 in 8 Americans have hearing loss? Our hearing is more fragile than most of us realize. Any noise over 85 decibels can cause hearing damage. Even seemingly harmless activities, like attending a concert or mowing the lawn can damage sensitive structures in the inner ear and cause hearing loss over time.

 

Other things that can cause hearing loss include infections, some medications, genetics, and aging. Some factors are out of our hands, but there are steps we can take to protect our hearing throughout our lives.

 

And while you can’t go back in time and prevent your own hearing loss, you can protect the hearing you do have and be a hearing loss prevention advocate for your loved ones.

 

Infancy

Infants can be born with hearing loss or develop it shortly after birth. Hearing loss can be inherited from a parent or caused by a genetic mutation. Certain viral infections during the mother’s pregnancy, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) and meningitis can also cause hearing loss in infants. Babies requiring a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), either due to premature birth or other complications are more likely to develop hearing loss.

 

 

Find out as soon as possible. Most hospitals screen a baby’s hearing before sending him home. If the baby wasn’t born in the hospital or was not screened, have the pediatrician screen his hearing within the first month. If the baby doesn’t pass the hearing screening, they should have a full hearing evaluation by an audiologist by three months of age.

 

Some hearing loss develops later, and parents and caregivers are usually the first ones to notice. If a baby doesn’t seem to react to sound as he should, let the pediatrician know immediately.

 

Childhood

Children can experience temporary hearing loss when they have an ear infection, and it can have a negative impact on speech and language development if the infection is chronic. Permanent hearing loss can occur if nerves in the inner ear are damaged by a head trauma, or certain infections, like measles, mumps, or meningitis. Sometimes, genetic hearing loss does not develop until later in childhood.

 

 

Protect your little ones from head injuries with helmets during all potentially dangerous activities. Make sure they are up to date on all vaccinations available and that they get a flu shot every fall. If there is ever a concern about your child’s speech or language development, or hearing, ask the pediatrician for a hearing evaluation.

 

Teenage Years

For teens, loud music is the main culprit causing hearing loss. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 12.5 percent of children 6 to 19 have hearing loss from listening to loud music.

 

 

Educate the teens in your life about hearing loss and what it means. Many don’t realize that it is a permanent condition or how delicate our ears are. Ask them to follow the 60/60 rule: keep the volume below 60 percent, and don’t listen more than 60 minutes at a time before giving their ears a break.

 

Adults

As we get older, the activities that cause hearing loss are often things we have to do—yard and house work (mowing, leaf blowing, using power tools), or jobs that require us to be in loud environments for extended periods of time.

 

Recreation, like attending concerts, target shooting and hunting, or snowmobiling, can also cause hearing loss over time.

 

 

Be aware that any long-term or repeated exposure to sounds above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. Most of us don’t realize how loud some common sounds are:

 

Be sure to wear earplugs or ear muffs when you participate in a loud activity. If possible, do the same at work, if you work in a noisy environment. When you find yourself without ear protection, try to limit your exposure to the sound.

 

Seniors

As we age, some degree of hearing loss can occur as part of the aging process. It is actually one of the most common age-related conditions. It often occurs simultaneously in both ears, affecting them equally.

 

However, hearing loss could be a symptom of another health condition. For example, high blood pressure and diabetes have been linked to hearing loss.

 

Additionally, there are over 200 pharmaceuticals known to adversely affect the human auditory system. Often these ototoxic drugs are used to treat conditions that are more common in older people, like cancer infections, and heart disease.

 

 

Educate yourself about the side effects of all your medications. Before you begin any course of treatment, get a hearing test from a hearing care professional. The audiogram they provide will give you a baseline by which to measure changes.

 

Get regular checkups to monitor your blood pressure, glucose levels, and other important vital statistics. Continue to use hearing protection if you find yourself in noisy situations. If you start to notice hearing loss, make plans to speak a hearing care professional.