Speak Up, I Can’t Hear You
When I was younger, I used to always fight with my mother about turning down the volume of everything from my headphones to the television. Now, it seems that I’m lucky that she won so many of those fights. A new study reveals that one in five teens have hearing loss. In fact, since a study done from 1988 to 1994, hearing loss in teens aged 12 to 19 has increased 30 percent–a huge jump.
While the majority of the loss was considered mild, there was a sharp increase in those who experienced a loss of 25 decibels or more. Doctors couldn’t definitively conclude that an increase of ear infections or volume of music was what caused the increase. Rather, they believe that the relationship between volume and related side effects has become highly underestimated by today’s youth.
Most teens don’t pay attention to things like tinnitus, a ringing in the ears after they’ve been exposed to loud noises, and that may be the cause for increased hearing loss. If it doesn’t cause noticeable pain, they may not think that there’s a problem and are less likely to report the issue to a parent or doctor.
Doctors are concerned that increased exposure to loud volumes without any intervention or personal prevention might lead to difficulties with language development and learning in general.
As I’ve gotten older, loud music has become less and less enticing and can, at times, be outright annoying if it lasts for too long. When I was a kid, I used to listen to my music at a level that would make normal people cringe. Hopefully today’s teens will grow out of the habit as I have, or else there might be serious issues that they’ll have to address in years to come. Unfortunately, with hearing, once it’s gone, you can’t get it back.
To read the original article, please go to http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/teen-hearing-loss-soars-30-percent-in-three-decades/19591439