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In honor of Earth Day, we want to spread awareness of the effects noise pollution can have on your hearing. 

You may be wondering, what is noise pollution, and how can it cause hearing loss? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), noise pollution is a state of excessive noise that “seriously harms human health and interferes with people’s daily activities at school, at work, at home, and during leisure time.

While the source of noise pollution is mainly dependent on on where you live and what your occupation or hobbies are, the most common sources of noise pollution include: 

  • Construction Sites 
  • Piped-in Sound
  • Traffic 
  • Airport Traffic 
  • Industrial Machinery

There are also many common noise pollution sources that come directly from your home. The outside  sources may come from lawnmowers, motorcycles, leaf blowers, and back-up beepers. Inside your home, noise pollution can occur from barking dogs, loud appliances and multiple audio/video speakers playing. 

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), an estimated 30 million Americans are exposed to dangerous noise levels on a regular basis, an increase of 10 million from just a few years ago.

The effects of noise pollution can cause noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus, which is commonly referred to as “ringing in the ears.” While there is a small growing awareness of noise pollution and the effects on human health and hearing, unfortunately, there is no way to prevent this issue entirely. 

In the meantime, however, there are a few steps and measures you can take to protect your hearing from the harmful noise pollution that occurs in your area. Be aware of when loud is too loud. If you are in an area where you have to raise your voice or shout in order to have a conversation, the noise level is likely to be above 80 decibels, which is too loud for the human ear. 

If you are involved in loud recreational or occupation areas, take preventative measures to protect your ears. It can be as easy as wearing ear plugs, ear muffs, or professional hearing protective devices. 

Here at Audicus, we want to protect your hearing. If you are currently experiencing hearing loss that you believe may be linked to noise pollution, we encourage you to take our Online Hearing Test or visit our Lone Tree Hearing Clinic. Our Hearing Specialists are here to support you with any of your hearing needs, both online and in-store.