Recently on JacksonSun.com, Beth Knoll wrote an article talking about something going on that most people don’t realize: young people are having hearing problems and hearing loss.
It used to be that older people, over 65, were the ones known to be hard-of-hearing and needing hearing aids to hear their caregivers and grandchildren’s words. Nowadays, in a society where young people go to deafening music concerts and stand close to the speakers, as well as wear ear buds playing music at loud levels for extended periods of time, it’s no wonder that more and more audiologists are seeing younger patients.
Knoll quotes an audiologist who says, “Hearing loss occurs when loud noise damages the ear’s hair cells, which transmit neural impulses to the brain. After noise damages a hair cell, it no longer transmits neural impulses. Over time, the brain is not receiving the amount of impulses it needs to properly understand sounds such as speech, resulting in the need for hearing aids.”
Besides loud music, the article also mentions hunters not wearing protective hearing gear as another group of people audiologists deal with on a regular basis. While many shooters think nothing of it, just one gunshot, without hearing protection, can cause permanent hearing damage.
While today’s hearing aids aren’t as bulky as ones in the 1980s and 1990s, it’s recommended that people take precaution with their ears by wearing hearing protection, such as earplugs, when they’ll be around loud noises such as music and gunshots.
Electronic Shooters Protection sells state-of-the-art electronic hearing protection devices. The custom-fitted pieces have a precise fit, letting in normal, natural sounds, while blocking the crazy loud noises from hurting a person’s ears.