Published on:
11
May 2009
Clackmannanshire Council's Environmental Health Officers are warning young people of the dangers that prolonged exposure to loud music can have on their hearing, as part of Noise Action Week.
Noise Action Week, which takes place from 18th - 22nd May 2009, is an annual, national event organised by Environmental Protection UK to promote awareness about noise.
This year, Clackmannanshire Council is raising the awareness of the issue of hearing damage caused by exposure of excessive noise levels at work, in the home and when you're enjoying your leisure time.
In 2005, The Noise at Work Regulations were updated to ensure that workers' hearing is protected from excessive noise at their place of work, which could cause them to lose their hearing and/or to suffer from tinnitus. Since 2008, Environmental Health Officers at Clackmannanshire Council have been raising awareness amongst workers in the entertainment sector including pubs, bars and nightclubs to ensure that staff are not putting their hearing at risk.
Exposure to loud noise does not just happen at work - our hobbies and leisure time frequently involve noisy activities and listening to MP3 players, home and in-car entertainment systems and music in pubs, clubs, gigs and at home can cause long term hearing loss.
In nightclubs and at pop concerts, noise levels can exceed 110 dBA. At this level, under the Noise at Work Regulations, the safe tolerance is under two minutes. Even classical concerts can exceed 100 dBA. The local gym will probably play music in excess of 80 decibels to drown out the noise of all the machinery. There is also an increase in the noise levels experienced at the cinema. The 1998 film Godzilla peaked at a level of 118 decibels, and the trend seems set to continue. Noise levels in a football stadium can reach 117 decibels.
There is even a danger of noise-induced hearing loss from such pastimes as DIY or riding a motorcycle.
The Council's Environmental Health Officers will be taking their message to the students at Forth Valley College next week. The students at the Clackmannan campus will be able to witness the damaging effects on hearing from prolonged exposure to gadgets such as MP3 players.
Students will be asked to test out the effects their MP3 players could have on their hearing by using a special mannequin attached to a sound level meter. The Head and Torso Simulator (HATs) equipment consists of a dummy with built-in ear and mouth simulators. These provide a realistic replica of an average, adult human head and torso for testing out external acoustic effects. The sound level meter, which records noise in real time and displays the results on its screen, will allow users to actually 'see' the noise levels and view the results against a graphic equaliser.
You are invited to send a photographer to Forth Valley College's Clackmannan Campus at noon on Tuesday 12th May 2009 to see the Head and Torso Simulator being demonstrated.
Councillor Eddie Carrick, Portfolio Holder for Sustainability, said: "The boom in popularity of MP3 players, the availability of more powerful audio equipment and later opening times at pubs and clubs has increased the risk of long term hearing loss as there is more exposure to louder music.
"If you can't talk to people above the music without shouting or, after listening to music, you can't hear properly or have ringing in your ears then the sound was too loud.
"The last thing I want is to deter youngsters from enjoying their music but with a few sensible precautions, they can continue to listen without running the risk of permanently damaging their hearing."
For many people, tinnitus will be the first sign of damage. Research shows that around 70-80% of people who regularly visit nightclubs will experience tinnitus at least temporarily.
MP3 players may cause a particular hearing problems for people later on in life. Repeated exposure to music from personal music players, through headphones, at, or near to, maximum volume will be sufficient to cause permanent damage to hearing in some people. Current European Union legislation on the power output of 'portable audio equipment' with headphone use, means the maximum volume personal music players can reach is 100 dBA - equivalent to a pneumatic drill from 12 feet!
To try and protect your hearing as much as possible, be aware of how long you are being exposed to loud sounds. Also be aware of your environment. Listening to loud music in a confined space, such as a car, could be more damaging than in a large room, or even outdoors. Consider the potential impact of all sources of sound you are exposed to, and give your ears ample time to recover after loud noise exposure. As a general guide, if you have to shout to make yourself heard by someone two metres away the noise level could be dangerous.
For personal music players such as MP3s, if other people can hear the sound from a personal music player, then it is too loud. It is recommended that even if the volume on a personal music player is at about 60 percent of maximum (manufacturer's settings), it shouldn't be listened to for more than an hour continuously a day.
Generally, exposure to sound levels below 80 decibels are unlikely to cause any hearing damage. Prolonged exposure to sounds over 80 decibels can damage your hearing and the risk increases as the sound level increases. So at 140 decibels, noise causes immediate injury to almost any unprotected ear.
Hearing damage caused by exposure to excessive noise can result in permanent deafness and/or the condition known as tinnitus. Once your hearing has been damaged, it cannot be repaired.
Repeated exposure to excessive noise can kill the hair cells and damage the hearing nerve making them unable to work properly, resulting in a permanent hearing loss. This is called a 'sensorineural' hearing loss.
Someone with noise-induced hearing loss will first notice a difficulty hearing the high-pitched sounds that are important in being able to hear and understand speech. To start with it may become difficult to have a one to one conversation with someone where there is background noise. However, as the hearing loss gets worse, even following a conversation in quiet will become difficult and frustrating.
Tinnitus is often described as 'ringing' in the ears or head, when there is no external sound. Many sufferers report that their tinnitus sounds like a background squeal emitted by a PC monitor or a TV. Others hear noises like hissing steam, buzzing or rushing water.
The Health and Safety Executive estimates that over 170 000 currently suffer from deafness, tinnitus or other ear conditions due to exposure of excessive noise levels associated with their work activities.
For further information:
www.environmental-protection.org.uk
www.rnid.org.uk
www.tinnitus.org.uk
www.deafnessresearch.org.uk