Why More Teens Go Deaf

Reports have it that a lot of teens are being diagnosed of hearing impairment, and one of the causes is loud music. In the span of 30 years, the increase has been dramatic, with a 30% rise in the number of young people with hearing impairment. Hearing loss due to loud sound is the frequent complaint. These young people don’t go deaf just like that. There is a cause and it should have been preventable if parents were more aware.

Portable music players, like iPods and mp3 players, have been blamed for causing deafness, but these are man-operated devices. They give entertainment and won’t hurt the ears when played within safe volume range. The problem is that most teens don’t know that playing music at extreme volumes has bad consequences to the hearing. Some know this already but ignore the warnings, and they will soon succumb to various symptoms of hearing impairment.

Sound at home may also play an important factor. Parents should check their children if they are playing their stereos too loud. Also, visits to noisy pubs and concert halls should be limited to avoid noise induced damage.

Noise damage doesn’t only cause hearing loss but also other problems like tinnitus, which is commonly accompanied by some form of hearing loss. Conventional medicine doesn’t provide cure for tinnitus. Perhaps that is why many patients resort to alternative tinnitus treatments. On the other hand, deafness can be helped through hearing aids.

Teen hearing loss trend continues | WLFI – West Lafayette, Indiana: