More Teens Suffering from Hearing Loss

Hearing impairment was a problem of the elderly, but times have changed and more young people are suffering from this problem. How has this become possible? Back in the day, children and teens had hearing impairment due to congenital defects. Such problems are incurable. Today there is another form of incurable hearing impairment among teens, and it’s caused by nothing less than noise.

More teens are going to music lounges and concert halls where music can bang on walls loudly. Prolonged exposure to deafening noise and music takes a toll on one’s hearing eventually. Even more serious is the use of iPods and mp3 players on earbuds. You won’t realize a teen’s music is playing too loud when it’s playing on earphones. Habitual listening to loud music can impair hearing in the long run. Have you heard of band players who played drums and electric guitars at high volume and succumbed to hearing impairment?

Hearing impairment can happen when you don’t take good care of your ears, and what’s more depressing is that you don’t notice it at first.

An American study reveals that in the last 30 years, the number of teens with hearing loss has increased by 30%, although most cases are mild hearing impairment. The signs of developing hearing loss are muffled hearing, inability to hear words properly, trouble with phone conversations, and turning the television louder than anybody else.

The hearing impaired people may suffer from some degree of ringing in the ears or tinnitus, which has no absolute treatment. Sufferers can turn to either medical or alternative tinnitus treatments though. Hearing loss, on the other hand, can be addressed through hearing aids.

Hearing-loss rates rise considerably in teens — Irish Medical Times: