Non-auditory effects of noise exposure include stress, associated physiological and behavioral effects, and safety concerns. Auditory effects of noise exposure include hearing impairment as a result of excessive noise exposure. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the main concern related to occupational noise exposure.
What are some instances of how hearing affects health?
The main auditory effects are as follows: Tinnitus: Ringing or buzzing in the ears. Temporary hearing loss: Also known as temporary threshold shift (TTS) which occurs immediately after exposure to a high level of noise. There is gradual recovery when the affected person spends time in a quiet environment. Complete recovery may take several hours or days (up to 48 hours). Acoustic trauma: Sudden hearing damage caused by short burst of extremely loud noise, such as a gunshot.
What traits define permanent hearing loss brought on by noise?
The main characteristics of noise-induced hearing loss include: Noise exposure can cause a permanent hearing loss that may affect speech communication; Noise-induced hearing loss is a cumulative process; factors that determine hearing loss include overall noise levels; noise composition; exposure time over a typical work day; and the worker's work history (days, weeks, years).
Does hearing decline with age?
Age-related hearing loss adds to noise-induced hearing loss, which means that hearing ability may continue to deteriorate even after a person stops working in a noisy environment. This medical condition is known as presbycusis. Again, like noise-induced hearing loss, everyone is not affected equally.
What additional factors contribute to hearing loss?
Noise damages the hearing organs (cochlea) in the inner ear, which is why noise-induced hearing loss is a sensory-neural type of hearing loss. Certain medications and diseases may also damage the inner ear, resulting in hearing loss. Generally, it is not possible to distinguish between sensory-neural hearing loss caused by exposure to noise and sensory-neural hearing loss due to other causes. Medical judgement, in such cases, is based on the noise exposure his.
How are hearing losses assessed?
The average hearing threshold level of a typical young adult with healthy ears is 0 decibels (dB); the PTS (permanent threshold shift), as measured by audiometry, is the dB level of sounds of various frequencies that are just barely audible to that person. A positive threshold shift represents hearing loss and a negative threshold shift represents hearing gain.""" - https://www.affordablecebu.com/
