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They are threatened by all kinds of noise – on the street, at work, at home. Our ears, especially in large cities, are exposed to constant noise throughout the day. If we add an all-night club party to this, we run the risk of hearing problems. A DJ who plays music there is not always aware of the safety standards.
The loudness limit to which a person can be exposed for several hours is approximately 80 decibels. Meanwhile, in clubs and discos it reaches even 117. For comparison – 100 decibels is almost as much as the sound of a jackhammer or a plane taking off. The result is that younger and younger people become hard of hearing. Already every seventh student has hearing impairment. Meanwhile, noise negatively affects not only the ears, but also the nervous system and psyche.
Below you will find answers to the questions you asked the expert in the chat. Our guest was Dr. Anna Piotrowska, MD – specialist audiologist, phoniatrist, otolaryngologist. Employed at the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing since 1996. Contractor of the European project Remediation of Hearing Loss, Marie Curie EU Project. Co-author of the implementation of clinical procedures in the field of cochlear implants. Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Screening since 2010.
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: I warmly welcome.
halasliwiec_on: What harm can noise cause to human health?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Hearing and extra-auditory, relating to the organ of hearing and those not related to the organ of hearing. Hearing loss is usually mentioned first. In addition to damaging the hearing organ, noise contributes to cardiovascular disease. It has a negative effect on the vegetative and digestive systems. It also causes psychosomatic changes. It makes us tired, we have worse concentration of attention.
cisza_o_ciszy_00: Are there any diseases that complicate hearing loss?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: There are many medical conditions which can cause or indirectly contribute to hearing loss. The harmful effects on the hearing organ can be caused by many pathogenic microorganisms, including both viruses and bacteria. Chronic diseases, such as, for example, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, can also damage the auditory receptor through chemodynamic disturbances. There is also the concept of the so-called sudden deafness, the cause of which most often remains unknown. There are, however, many factors that could lead to the occurrence of such a problem.
get_addicted: How can we protect ourselves if we have to be in noise every day and we have no influence on it, e.g. at school?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Indeed, noise can be hard to escape at times. Knowing, however, that schools are indeed places where noise levels often exceed acceptable standards, we should undertake systemic measures aimed at eliminating or reducing noise.
apple: I often have a clogged ear feeling? What could be the reason?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: There can be many reasons for this. One of the common reasons may be simply earwax, which is filling the ear canal tightly. However, such a symptom should not be taken lightly and it is worth consulting a specialist.
slawek170: Can delayed speech development indicate hearing impairment in my 6-year-old son?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Hearing impairment should always be ruled out in the event of delayed speech development in a child.
Basia: In our office, the air conditioner is loud, can such noise affect our health and hearing? What should we do about it?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: The noise of the air conditioner can be harmful and cause, for example, fatigue, nervousness, reduced productivity at work. Depending on the noise level emitted by this air conditioner, the severity of the negative symptoms will vary. It seems to me that periodic exposure to such conditions should not lead to permanent hearing damage. I assume this air conditioner does not produce a noise exceeding 40-50 decibels.
Ona_ unclassified: Hello, what can you advise people who work quite often and for a long time in noise, eg teachers? How can they help their hearing?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Teachers work in exposure to school noise, which – as mentioned before – it is recommended to take systemic actions. Of course, on an ad hoc basis, hearing protectors can be used, which can significantly reduce noise. An ear cup with an insert can reduce noise by up to 40 decibels.
Mitch___23: What is it really like with in-ear headphones – they damage hearing less, as well as fleas and earbuds, or maybe hardly any damage at all rationally used?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Headphones per se do not damage your hearing. Hearing is damaged by the sounds emitted by these headphones. When using in-ear headphones, remember that the earpiece diaphragm is positioned fairly close to the eardrum. Thus, the sound pressure level may be higher than when using earphones. I support rational use.
hhh_87: Is noise only destructive to hearing, or can it also have negative effects on other organs?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: It can have a negative effect on other organs and systems. As said before, noise can negatively affect mental health, the vegetative, digestive and endocrine systems. It also leads to sleep disorders. It can also have a negative impact on social contacts, relationships, and behavior.
halasliwiec_on: Are there any regulations in Poland regulating the permissible noise values?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: There is an ordinance of the Minister of the Environment of 2002 on detailed requirements that should be met by an environmental protection program against noise. This regulation also specifies the permissible noise levels and the penalty rates for exceeding them. In addition, there are EU directives and WHO documents regulating noise standards.
noisek_noisek: Is neonatal screening reliable or do you have to repeat such tests?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: I will try to answer this question, although it is not quite precise. Newborn hearing screening (because I understand this is what the question is about) is a major breakthrough in audiology. These tests are designed to detect congenital hearing impairment. Depending on the method used, the sensitivity and specificity of these tests exceeds 95 percent. However, it should be remembered that hearing loss may develop later in life and therefore cannot be detected by examination in the neonatal period. Therefore, it is justified and necessary to conduct hearing screening tests in a repeatable manner in the next years of a child’s life.
Tom: Good morning. I have a question for you: I have unusually damaged my hearing. In mid-January I was at a disco in Munich. It was my loudest disco ever. I was on it for about 6 hours non-stop without leaving the premises. The place had a low ceiling and the sound bounced from all sides and was poorly diffused. My atypical hearing impairment is that the audiogram is normal – but hearing comfort has decreased. Here is the emission: acoustic only 35 percent, no bass audibility between 30-50hz, sounds up to 100hz are muted, as well as part of the midrange. The audiogram shows that everything is fine, but I hear differently. Is there a chance for hearing to come back up to six months? Steroids, drips, hyperbaria were taken 2 weeks after the disco – there is no improvement even in 1% …
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Wow. The message is also quite unusual. Standard thresholds for frequencies from 250 Hz are assessed in the audiogram. It is difficult for me to relate to the range below 100 Hz. I think that it would be worth performing and / or repeating a set of tests, including over-threshold tests, to assess the condition of hearing and prognosis.
Kacpero: What is phonemic hearing?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Phonemic hearing – generally speaking – is the ability to distinguish between different components of speech.
Basia: What are the acceptable noise standards?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: The permissible noise levels expressed in the A-equivalent sound level in decibels are defined depending on the intended use of the area, as well as the time of day. And these levels range from 50 to 75 decibels throughout the day, depending on the terrain. For example, for housing in cities, the value is 55 decibels. For larger cities, especially in the centers of these cities, the limit level is 75 decibels if the noise source is traffic noise. Of course, much lower standards apply to the night time.
angel_noise_90: I have heard that noise affects the mental development of children because, in the company of high decibels, they cannot focus and therefore have problems with learning to speak and read correctly. Is it true?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: That’s true. Indeed, noise can negatively affect children’s cognitive development, i.e. skills such as reading, concentration, problem-solving, memory, which can lead to learning difficulties.
juli: I am 28 years old and I have been hearing constant tinnitus for some time. Even when I go to sleep and there is complete silence all around. What could this cause or effect be?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: I think that you hear this noise not so much, but probably mainly when there is complete silence. Based on this brief information, I cannot answer the question of cause and / or effect unequivocally. However, if the tinnitus has persisted for some time, a specialist consultation is recommended.
Merovingian: Excessive noise causes a lack of concentration, concentration, excessive silence makes a person unable to focus, because he is distracted by every rustle. So where is the noise decency limit?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Noise is a psychoacoustic concept. The border is set individually. What is noise for some, for others it can be a pleasant acoustic background.
oPeN: For several years now, I have been hearing a constant high-frequency squeal in my ear – the question is, should I do something about it or accept that it is meant to be – are there effective methods to get rid of the squeaking problem in my ears?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Squeaking in the ears is included in the tinnitus category. If you have not consulted your doctor despite this ailment, it is recommended to do so. There are now tinnitus treatments that are successful in a large percentage of patients. The given type of therapy is undertaken depending on the results of audiological tests and other clinical data.
And the last question for our guest:
she_unclassified: In today’s medicine, is it possible to reverse a partial hearing loss caused by, for example, school noise?
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: If, as a result of noise, there is a permanent so-called sensorineural hearing loss, it is irreversible. However, in today’s medicine we are able to alleviate or eliminate the negative effects of this damage, i.e. improve the auditory functioning of a given person.
We would like to thank the Doctor and all Users for participating in the chat
dr_n_med_Anna_Piotrowska: Thank you very much for the interesting discussion as well.