The importance of taking care of our hearing

It seems that we are only aware of the noise to which we are subjected when we move away from the city and we enter nature, where we approach silence and realize everything that surrounds us.

How does noise affect the ears?

Being able to listen is one of the great pleasures of life, but in many cases, hearing is lost over time. What many people do not know is that the ears are a delicate organ , which can be affected by a cold or by excessive noise.

And that is that ambient noise can reach constitute a health problem. Some health professionals and researchers provide figures that can draw a lot of attention, such as the otolaryngologist Barajas del Rosal, who states that 80% of the population of large cities could be constantly exposed to a lot of noise. greater than the recommended e of 65 decibels.

The consequences are not only headaches, it can also mean loss of hearing ability and other alterations described by Dr. Barajas del Rosal as irritability, sleep disturbances, anxiety ... And, given that at any age one can be exposed to these high levels of noise, it can also be said that at any age -children, adolescents, young people, adults and people older- may suffer from hearing loss caused by noise.

Tips to prevent the effects of noise

There is rui two before which we can not do much, except make big decisions as a change of house (look for an area with less ambient noise) or improve the acoustic isolation to favor the possibility of more silence inside the home.

However, there are other noises to which we can take measures and favor the prevention of hearing loss. In GAES hearing centers, they propose three initiatives to protect themselves from noise that may be interesting and even necessary: ​​

Limit or better use headphones

For some time now, the effects of the use of earphones and headphones for hearing have been assessed, since this noise emission is very close to the ear. It is usually recommended that the best thing is to use headphones and invest in good ones that isolate so that one is not tempted to upload the music (radio, series, or what you hear) at a volume above the recommended for health .

Nowadays, what has been demonstrated is that the misuse of the headphones is causing hearing problems at very young ages. At the same time, you will see that more and more electronic devices have a built-in warning about the recommended volume if it exceeds 60%.

Hearing protection

Bikers, workers in noisy places, musicians, swimmers ... All of them have in common that they have special ear protectors in order to prevent any irreversible damage to the inner ear. Counting on this possibility, it is essential that it does not go unnoticed or devalue it, because it can be a great change for the hearing health and its use does not imply a risk for driving, for example, since the user is not incommunicado.

​​Auditory test

At any GAES hearing center you can perform a free and painless test to check how your ears are and your listening ability.