Annually, March 3 marks World Hearing Day to raise awareness on ways of preventing deafness and hearing loss as well as promoting ear and hearing care across the globe. The World Health Organization hosted, like every year, World Hearing Day event at its headquarters in Geneva. The events focus on the importance of safe listening as a means of maintaining good hearing across the life course.
Even though people generally do not consciously pay attention to it and at times neglect it, the hearing health is quite significant for the overall well being of a human being. A good hearing ability helps one to connect with people by listening to them, engaging with them and observing them. On the other hand, hearing loss adversely impacts one’s quality of life and as per experts, it may even affect one’s mental health. When someone loses connection with people, loneliness envelops him or her, making a human being anxious and prone to depression.
According to WHO, many common causes of hearing loss can be prevented, including hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sounds. On the other hand, ‘safe listening’ can mitigate the risk of hearing loss associated with recreational sound exposure, the global health body underlines.
According to the experts, if one’s job makes it difficult for one to avoid loud noises, frequent breaks can help provide some relief to the ear.
Also if one’s profession demands usage of headphones for long durations, then it is recommended to use headbands.
In general, overuse of earphones at higher volumes over prolonged periods of time can result in hearing loss, according to a doctor’s body in Kashmir.
The younger generation particularly remains vulnerable as they are glued to their personal listening devices like earphones, headphones and earbuds.
Young people often choose volumes as high as 105 decibels, which can have harmful effects.
The safe sound levels, as per the experts, are around 85 decibels for adults and 75 decibels for children.
As put by the doctor’s body, today’s earphone users are going to be tomorrow’s hearing aid users.
In such a scenario, people need to avoid earphones and those who need them for professional duties should take precautions.
On other fronts, people should never use earbuds or bobby pins to clean the ears as it can harm the ear. Also exercising on a daily basis keeps the blood flowing to the entire body, including the ears. Good circulation can help maintain good oxygen levels and the internal parts of the ears healthy.