How Loud is it Where You Live?

The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has created an interactive comprehensive "noise map" showing how "loud" it is to live in different parts of the United States (for the year 2014). The map depicts data on noise produced primarily by airports and interstate highways. Noise pollution is worst where it is red (80 decibels or higher) and best where it is white (less than 40 decibels). Check out how loud it is where you live here ! Click here to look at som…

3/25/2017 0

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How Ears Tune In and Out Certain Sounds

Ever wonder how humans with normal hearing are able to "hear" what one person is saying in a crowded room where many people are talking? How is it that the ear is able to tune in and out of conversations going around, especially when everybody in a room is talking equally loud? To understand this ear "tuning" ability, one needs to first understand that the ear incorporates two "aspects" that allow for good hearing: a volume knob and an antenna. Should the volum…

3/21/2014 0

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Permanent Hearing Loss From Noise May Depend on Time of Day!

Research out of Sweden have discovered that noise-induced hearing loss sustained at night is more likely to become permanent than if it occurred during the day... at least in mice. Apparently, there are certain genes found to cycle in the cochlea of mice in a pattern that followed the hours of the day. By measuring the auditory nerve activity, they found that mice exposed to moderate noise levels during the night suffered from permanent hearing loss while mice exposed to similar noise leve…

3/07/2014 0

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Hearing Protection and NRR (Noise Reduction Rating)

For all hearing protection devices from ear plugs to ear muffs, there is a NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) score that informs consumers how much of a decrease in noise exposure to expect with use. For example, if an ear plug has a NRR score of 30, use of the device would be expected to reduce a 90 decibel sound by 30 decibels resulting in a noise exposure of 60 decibels. If two hearing protection devices are used, an ear plug inside the ear canal followed by ear muffs over the ear, the ultimat…

11/24/2013 0

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Teens (People) Who Listen to Music Loudly... A Possible Solution

Now parents may not like this, but I do have a possible solution to getting teenagers to turn the music volume down so not to damage their hearing ... Get them noise-cancelling headphones . As an occasional audiophile myself, I understand that when listening to music with headphones, you invariably HAVE to turn the music volume up in order to hear everything clearly, especially when listening to music in noisy environments. Such environments include city sounds while walking, airplane buzz …

9/01/2013 0

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Dr. Chang Quoted in Washington Post Regarding Hearing Damage from Noise

The Washington Post on April 8, 2013, published a story about how loud noises can lead to hearing loss, even in young teenagers. Dr. Chang was liberally quoted throughout this informative article . "...That’s according to Christopher Chang, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Fauquier ENT Consultants in Warrenton, who sees patients every day with hearing-related issues. “What he’s hearing is way too loud, because it’s concentrated directly into the ear itself,” he says of my son, add…

4/09/2013 0

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People DO Suffer Hearing Loss After a Loud Concert

Almost everybody at some point in their lives have attended a loud concert or loud nightclub. Almost everybody will also recall a temporary reduction in their hearing with or without ringing afterwards for a short period of time. This phenomenon is called temporary threshold shift (TTS) whereby the affected person has a temporary hearing loss that may last hours to days due to temporary damage of the outer hair cells of the cochlea. If loud nose exposure happens enough times, permane…

5/21/2012 0

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Movie Sets are Dangerous to Ears!

First it was Maggie Q, and now I learn that there are other celebrities with hearing loss due to movie set loud noise exposure. Leonard Nimoy (Spock of Star Trek fame) suffers from right ear tinnitus due to hearing damage from a special effects explosion during filming of Star Trek episode "Arena". Similarly, Steve Martin suffers from tinnitus due to hearing damage sustained during filming of a pistol-shooting scene for "¡Three Amigos!" in 1986. Here is a full l…

9/02/2011 0

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iPods & Other Music Devices Can Cause Permanent Hearing Loss!

The Washington Post wrote up a nice article regarding the increased risk of permanent hearing loss kids these days may suffer due to listening to music devices too loudly. Such noise-induced hearing loss also increases the risk of tinnitus (ringing of the ears). The key things to easily remember to ensure proper music volume is: 1) If people around you can hear the music you are listening to, it's too loud. 2) If you can't hear what people are saying while listening to music, it&#…

7/03/2009 0

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