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Stop the constant noise Give your ears a break
Today, human hearing is often exposed to everyday noise 24 hours a day. Experts at the University Hospital Leipzig (UKL) warned on the occasion of the International Day Against Noise on April 27, that we should often give our ears a break. Because the noise not only has a direct effect on the hearing, but is also associated with numerous other health impairments.
This year's day against the noise is under the motto "It's so quiet" and should remind you to pause your ears occasionally. However, peace is practically unknown to many people today. They are exposed to continuous noise pollution in everyday life and no longer know how "quiet" actually works. Professor Michael Fuchs, Head of the Department of Phoniatrics and Audiology at the Department of Otolaryngology (ENT) of the UKL, therefore gives tips in the current press release, how the ears can be taken a break and explains, which consequences excessive noise pollution threaten.
The ongoing noise pollution in everyday life can have serious health consequences, which is why experts advise to treat the ears more often a break. (Image: photo 5000 / fotolia.com) Continuous noise damages the health
The constant buzzing, rattling, roaring, knocking and hammering, which many ears are exposed to daily, does not remain without consequences for the hearing. According to the Leipzig experts, two types of noise can be distinguished from a medical point of view. The separation between the two was at a sound pressure level of 85 decibels (dB). Although noise levels below 85 dB do not cause any hearing loss, this noise can also make you sick in the long term, emphasizes Prof. Fuchs. For example, Fuchs cites high blood pressure and sleep disturbances as possible consequences of continuous noise from aircraft, road traffic or permanent construction sites. Because the hearing is open 24 hours a day and can not be closed like the eyes. So the noise affects us in our sleep and the body produces stress hormones even then. "This is a so-called archaic reaction of the body," explains Professor Fuchs.
Noise deafness can lead to social isolation
The specialist describes the hearing-damaging noise at levels above 85 dB as much more problematic. Here, the likelihood of noise deafness increases when people are exposed to such noise, for example, at work for years. In the case of noise deafness, those affected not only hear worse, but also understand, for example, language worse, which can ultimately lead to social isolation, explains Professor Fuchs in the press release of the UKL. According to the expert, close cooperation with occupational medicine is required in the case of work noise because the better the occupational physicians are aware of the latest treatment options, the more and better prophylaxis is possible. However, many people volunteer in their free time to engage in further noise from loud music in discotheques or listening to headphones, which can further aggravate the problems.
Escape from the noise
Often very noisy people no longer know what "quiet" actually means. They advise the expert, just to escape from the noise, turn off the radio or the TV and make a walk in the forest. Already 15 minutes of silence are a treat for the ears, according to Prof. Fuchs. In addition, people should not forget that the cells in the organ of Corti in the inner ear, the actual sense organ, are destroyed at excessive noise and irreversibly lost. The damage to the hearing remains irreversible. The prophylaxis and the regular education, for example, at schools here therefore have a high importance. Because adolescents must be made clear, which means noise deafness, to move them to protect their hearing. Doctors and educators were called upon to sensitize people to the issue of hearing protection. This must be started again and again, so the conclusion of the expert. (Fp)