Preventing Noise Induced Hearing Loss

What is noise induced hearing loss?  Well, according to the site http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/noise.aspx , noises we hear everyday are at safe levels.  However, loud noises that are unsafe can cause damage to our hearing and eventually make us lose hearing because those noises are so loud.  This is known as noise induced hearing loss.  So what is considered to be a loud noise?  Well, also on this site it explains that noises 75 decibels or less will more than likely not have a negative effect on your hearing.  However, noises that are 85 decibels or higher can cause serious damage to your hearing over time after repeated exposure or if exposed for a long amount of time.  Examples of these noises are also given.  At 45 decibels, that is the noise of your refrigerator making a humming noise.  Now on the other end, a firearm or firecracker is at 150 decibels.  Now, what about something close to 75 and 85.  Well, a conversation is said to be at 60 decibels, while a motorcycle/motor vehicle can range from 85-95 decibels.  Now that you know a little bit about how loud some things are, how do you prevent noise induced hearing loss?  Well, according to the site http://www.betterhearing.org/hearingpedia/hearing-loss-prevention/noise-induced-hearing-loss , you can do a couple different things.  If you listen to music too loud, you should take breaks so that you are not listening too long.  Also, you can wear noise canceling headphones to soften the noise.  This leads into using earplugs, earmuffs, or even both.  This may seem like a simple task, but a lot of people neglect to do these simple things in order to protect their hearing.  I hope this blog was helpful in providing information about what noise induced hearing loss is and how you can prevent getting it in simple ways!