Possible Causes of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss occurs in a range of ages and backgrounds, and it can have a significant impact on your life and wellbeing. This post goes over some potential reasons why you may experience hearing loss. Read on to find out more.

Occupational exposure

Some people who work in noisy environments may experience hearing loss as a result of the noise that surrounds them on a daily basis. This includes construction workers, truck drivers, factory workers, and musicians. These people are often exposed to high-intensity noises. High-intensity noises are sounds that produce a large amount of sound in a short period of time. These includes guns and/or military weapons, air guns or pneumatic tools like nail guns or hammers. In addition to being very damaging to the ears, exposure to excessive levels of noise can cause tinnitus — an annoying ringing or hissing sound in the ears that is usually worse when no background noise is present (listening to silence).

Headphone use

Listening to high volume music through headphones can be very damaging to your ability to hear properly over time. Even at lower volumes, your ears can be damaged after a long duration of listening. In fact, many people who wear headphones are not even aware that they are damaging their hearing, as hearing loss can be very subtle. When it does happen, the symptoms are often easily dismissed as something else. To prevent damage, limit the volume on the device you listen with and resist the temptation to increase the volume of the music in noisy environments.

Medication

Some common medications have been known to cause hearing loss. For example, aspirin, antibiotics, and blood pressure medications can all result in hearing loss. If you have recently started taking medication and you are concerned about your hearing, it is important you let the audiologist know exactly what you have been prescribed.

Ageing

Older age means that there is a higher rate of hearing loss as compared to younger people. The average ear begins to lose some of its hearing ability around age 40, which means that there is a greater chance for hearing loss to happen as you get older. There are many other factors that influence this, but it is something to keep in mind if you are concerned about whether or not you have any risk of experiencing hearing loss.

If you have any concerns about your hearing, you should book a consultation with an audiologist today. They will be happy to offer you an assessment and any treatment you require.