Email a Friend
Print
Larger
Smaller
David Coffin
“I don’t think people realize how much loud noise they are exposed to during all the Fourth of July activities,” said David Coffin, a professor of speech pathology and audiology. “We have music playing, use lawn mowers, listen to marching bands and light firecrackers. It is not a good time for our ears.”
Sounds louder than 80 decibels are considered potentially dangerous, but noise created by fireworks, traffic and lawnmowers ranges between 90 and 140 decibels, he said.
“Most people will suffer a loss of hearing after being exposed to high levels of noise pollution over a period of time,” Coffin said. “But, in some cases it may only take one exposure to cause permanent damage.”
He listed several warning signs of hazardous noise, including:
You must raise your voice to be heard.
You can’t hear someone two feet away.
Speech around you sounds muffled during or after leaving a noisy area.
You have pain or ringing in your ears after exposure.
“We have noise all around us, and it is getting worse,” said Coffin, coordinator of Ball State’s Audiology Clinic. “We are seeing more and more young people come into the clinic with hearing problems.”
Recent studies by the National Center for Health Statistics found that nearly 15 percent of subjects in the country age 6 to 19 have signs of hearing loss. Also, between 1971 and 1990 the incidence of hearing problems increased by 26 percent among people age 45-64 and by 17 percent among those 18-44.
Coffin urges people to take steps to reduce hearing loss by avoiding prolonged exposure to noise and wearing hearing protection such as earplugs or earmuffs when necessary.
“Noise exposure is a serious but preventable problem,” he said. “Hearing loss cannot be repaired. When hearing is gone, it’s gone.”
For more information about ways to prevent hearing loss, contact Coffin at dcoffin@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8160.
