Exposure to loud noise can damage hearing

An Indian-origin audiologist in the US has warned about the impending dangers to hearing because of loud noise.

Jyoti Bhayani, a certified audiologist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of Loyola University Health System, said that once hearing is damaged, it cannot be repaired.

Bhayani said that hearing loss because of excessive noise is totally preventable, unlike hearing loss due to old age or a medical condition.

Three small bones in the middle ear help transfer sound vibrations to the inner ear where they become nerve impulses that the brain interprets as sound.

Bhayani explained that when noise is too loud, it begins to kill the hair cells and nerve endings in the inner ear.

Bhayani added the louder a noise, the longer the exposure, and the closer the person is to the noise source, the more damaging it is to their nerve endings, or their hearing.