It’s fair to say that with any health condition, there will be misconceptions, and sometimes they’re not entirely irrational. For example, someone might assume that a person with total blindness is fine living in a dark environment and yes, they may not need to switch their lights on at night if living alone, but that doesn’t mean they can stare at the sun without abandon if they wanted to without experiencing damage. The ultraviolet light can still damage their retinas.
As such, you might ask if a person with hearing loss should worry about loud volumes. In fact, you might think that they can live with abandon, heading to concerts and standing right next to the speaker, getting a great night’s sleep even if married to the world’s loudest nighttime snorer, or never having to worry about renovation work taking place in their home.
The truth is that yes, those with hearing loss do need to protect their hearing still. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite grant you hearing immunity against noise. Here’s why and how that works:
Hearing Aid Management & Tuning
Remember that hearing aids will amplify sounds, so while they help in quiet or normal environments, they can still expose users to damaging noise levels if not properly adjusted or calibrated to your particular hearing needs.
That means it’s important to have a hearing care professional to continually check and fine-tune the device based on your needs, for that purpose, especially if you notice a change in your hearing.
Why Hearing Loss Doesn’t Make You Immune To Noise
So why does hearing loss not protect you from loud sounds? Well, the ear is still a sensitive organ, and even if some frequencies are harder to hear, the structures in the ear can still suffer damage if exposed to harsh stimulus.
Loud volumes can worsen hearing loss over time, making it even more difficult to hear in the future, and in some cases, causing further issues like tinnitus (a ringing or buzzing sound in the ears), which you can experience even if you can’t perceive outside sounds as well. For that reason it’s still wise to protect your hearing and not be cavalier about it. But if you experience hearing loss, how can you know if the sounds are harmful?
How To Deal With Loud Noises Despite Hearing Loss
If you have hearing loss and can hear sounds at a normal volume without wearing a device, that may be a sign that your external stimulus is too loud. Using ear protection, like noise-canceling earplugs or earmuffs, is a good counter to that, as it is for anyone. For those who still have some degree of hearing, it can help avoid the deterioration we mentioned.
This even works at night too, as using sound machines that play calming background noise or white noise can help mask louder sounds. You can also learn about reducing the impact of noise pollution on hearing, because this is a smart lifestyle means of limiting the difficulties you may otherwise have.
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