More young people suffer from hearing loss

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More young people suffer from hearing loss

40% of those diagnosed with hearing problems are below 40, figures from Singapore show.


In Singapore more young people, particularly men, are being affected by hearing problems. Statistics from the Changi General Hospital in Singapore show that 40 per cent of those diagnosed with hearing loss are younger than 40 years of age. This figure is a two-fold jump from what the hospital was seeing five to eight years ago.

Dr Yuen Heng Wai, a consultant otolaryngologist at the hospital, explaining this trend, said males - more so than females - are more frequently exposed to noise such as that at night clubs and from audio devices.

Hard to seek treatment

Acknowledging that higher awareness of the issue could contribute to the figures, Dr Yuen is, however, more concerned about getting youths to seek treatment.

"To them it is a big blow as hearing loss has always been associated with old age. They feel they have become less complete and stigmatised," said Dr Yuen.

To make matters worse, these hearing-impaired youths are resisting the use of hearing aids.

At Raffles Hospital in Singapore, one to two young men - between the ages of 15 and 30 - are seen every week for the treatment of hearing difficulties. The hospital's specialist in ENT surgery, Dr Stephen Lee, noted that "there has been a perceptible increase" over the past two years. He recommends that those who use audio devices go for a test at least once to check if their hearing ability has been affected.

Problems after swimming

Engaging in water sports is another emerging cause. Bacteria in dirty water stays in the ear and causes discomfort, said Dr Yuen of CGH. When patients try to ease the discomfort by "sticking all sorts of things" into their ears, the situation worsens.

In the past year alone, he has seen more than 10 patients who have experienced hearing problems after swimming.

A safety guideline for those who could suffer from impaired hearing would be to seek treatment if they experience difficulty in understanding what others are saying or having to ask them to repeat themselves.

Source: www.todayonline.com

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One in Four College Students Suffer from Hearing Loss

Any time that you near a college you are certain to spot two things: College students and plenty of music devices such as MP3 players. While listening to their favorite tunes may help many students relax and enjoy life, it can also have some serious effects on their hearing.

A new study shows that as many as one in every four college students maybe suffering from a form of hearing loss. These hearing problems maybe related to time spend using MP3 players and other music devices.

The study gathered a group of 56 students who were around 21-years-old and believed that they had no hearing problems. After the results came in, approximately one-fourth of all the students suffered from some form of hearing loss.

Researchers say that, while the hearing loss is not serious enough for hearing aids, it can still cause learning problems and may prevent them from enjoy the sounds of birds or children playing.

Those conducting the research were shocked at the results since the tests were fairly easy.

http://www.ecanadanow.com/health/2011/03/19/one-in-four-college-students-suffer-from-hearing-loss/

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Parents often warn their kids that they will “go deaf” if they don’t turn down the music, even when wearing earbuds. But, they usually don’t listen. Now a new University of Florida study warns that an alarming number of college students are actually beginning to lose their hearing. While testing students who thought they had normal hearing, researchers discovered 25% of them had actually lost some of their hearing. Male college students who reported using portable music players were more likely to have hearing loss in the high frequency range. Researchers say the hearing loss detected in the students usually occurs in older adults.

Dr. Colleen Le Prell/UF researcher: “So the level of hearing loss that we are seeing, it is starting in the higher frequencies and that is exactly what you see in an aged ear. So typically, starting around age 50, you will start to see hearing losses in the higher frequencies. When we are seeing kids with those kinds of hearing losses it is very alarming.”

A 15 decibels or more deficit in hearing was detected in the students in the study with hearing loss. Researchers say this amount hearing loss does not require a hearing aid, but it could be disruptive to education.

Dr. Colleen Le Prell/UF researcher: “Someone who has a 15 db level of hearing loss might have a harder time understanding what a teacher is saying. Or, if there is noise in the classroom and other students are talking and there is competing signals, it would be more difficult for that student to understand the material that is being presented.”

Researchers say current hearing tests in school children are not detecting a lot of hearing loss because the screenings check a narrow frequency range.

http://news.ufl.edu/2011/03/15/young-hearing-loss/

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Hearing loss in teen girls on the rise

Research shows that teen girls are now suffering from hearing loss almost to the same degree as boys.
   
Up until now, teen boys have been more likely than girls to show signs of a particular type of hearing loss because boys are more likely to be exposed to loud noises from e.g. leaf-blowers, firearms, or work machines. But girls are catching up - and the ubiquity of portable audio players may be to blame, research suggests.

Research published in Pediatrics in January 2011 indicates that girls, who have typically lagged behind their male peers when it comes to excessive noise exposure, are catching up.

A study from Harvard's School of Public Health shows roughly 17% - or 1 in 6 - of teens of both sexes have a hearing loss, particularly in the area of mid- to high-frequency sounds that can make it harder for them to hear speech and some high-pitched sounds.

More use of music devices

The researchers, led by Harvard's Elisabeth Henderson, think that the increase in hearing loss in girls may be the result of increased use of portable music devices such as MP3 players and Ipods. Their data shows, that the number of teens who listen to music via headphones or ear buds in the course of 24 hours has increased from 20% in the late 1980s and early 1990s to 35% in more recent years.

To investigate whether the recent popularity of portable music players is affecting teens’ hearing, Henderson and her colleagues looked at hearing tests collected from 2,519 teenagers between 1988 and 1994, and 1,791 teenagers between 2005 and 2006.

Three types of hearing loss

The researchers considered three types of hearing loss: low-frequency loss, in which people struggle to hear sounds in the low end of the sound spectrum (such as parts of human speech); high-frequency hearing loss, which affects how well they hear high pitches (such as chimes or a microwave beep and kids' speech); and noise-induced hearing-threshold shifts, or "NITSs," in which people have trouble hearing sounds in the middle of the sound spectrum (which can include some human speech and higher-pitched sounds from musical instruments).

The investigators found, that all three types of hearing loss were generally as common in the recent group of teens as they had been during the previous survey. But when they looked more closely at the data, they saw that one group - teen girls - had experienced an increase in the rate of NITSs, from 12% in the first survey to 17% in the second.

Sources: www.reuters.com , www.aolhealth.com and www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Students unaware of their hearing loss

The prevalence of hearing loss among students is greater than expected, and this can affect their ability to learn.

Group of students
   
A study by University of Florida in Gainesville shows, that one in four of the 56 students tested showed signs of hearing loss. This is a surprising result, not least because the same students declared themselves as having normal hearing in the preceding telephone interview. In other words, the students were not aware of their hearing loss.

“We were very surprised, especially because we used extremely liberal criteria for normal hearing,” says study author Colleen Le Prell, PhD, associate professor in the Department of speech, language, and hearing sciences at the University of Florida in Gainesville, and continues: “You would expect normal hearing in that population”.

The ability to learn can be harmed

25% of the students had a hearing loss of 15dB or more. Even though it is not necessary to use hearing aids with such a hearing loss, it is enough to influence the ability to learn negatively. According to Le Prell, this means that universities should focus on acoustics and a reduction in background noise, and the students with hearing loss should be aware that they should sit at the front in class.

7% of the students had a hearing loss of 25dB or more, which is clinically defined as a mild hearing loss.

The students should be tested

Le Prell suggests that the students should be tested annually, or at least at the start and end of their studies, so that their hearing loss can be identified and they can receive the necessary guidance on how best to protect their ears.

MP3-players can be the cause

The regular use of MP3-players could potentially be the reason that so many students have a hearing loss. To definitively prove a connection does however require further study, says Le Prell.

Source: http://teens.webmd.com & http://health.usnews.com

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More teens experience hearing loss
Due to loud music played through ear buds


(FOX Providence) - There are a growing number of teens experiencing hearing loss due to excessively loud music played through ear buds and headphones.

Michael Andreozzi, President of Beltone New England , joined The Rhode Show with important information for parents.

Why should people be concerned with hearing loss?

There has been an overall 31% increase in hearing loss this year alone in adolescents aged 12 to 19. Currently, 1 in 5 teens has a hearing loss, which is incredibly substantial.
What many people are not aware of is that Hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic condition behind arthritis and hypertension.

This is a concerning issue since a large number of people wait 15 years or more from the time they first recognize they have a hearing loss, to the point where they seek out professional attention.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communicative Disorders, approximately 32.5 million Americans have a hearing loss (1 in 10)
• 1 in 6 baby boomers have a hearing loss
• 1 in 4 people over age 65 have a hearing loss
• 1 in 2 over the age of 75 have a hearing loss

People lose their hearing gradually over time, so symptoms are often hard to notice, which means that many times it is those around us who notice first.

What most people do not understand is that hearing aids have the ability to help amplify the hearing you have left, but they do not have the ability to restore hearing you have lost. That is why taking action sooner rather than later is so vital to your hearing health and quality of life.

What are some of the warning signs of hearing loss?

You think other people sound muffled or are mumbling
You require frequent repetition of sounds and conversations
You have difficulty hearing in noisy situations, like restaurants and malls
You have trouble hearing children’s and women’s voices
You have the TV and radio turned up to high volumes
You answer or respond inappropriately in conversations

Studies have linked untreated hearing loss to:
• Irritability, negativism and anger
• Fatigue, tension, stress and depression
• Avoidance or withdrawal from social situations
• Reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety
• Impaired memory and ability to learn new tasks
• Reduced job performance and earning power
• Diminished psychological and overall health , and even Dementia

According to a study done by the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia over time than those who retain their hearing, researchers suggest.

The findings could lead to new ways to combat dementia, a condition that affects millions of people worldwide and carries heavy societal burdens.

Are there ways people can work to prevent hearing loss?

Preventing hearing loss boils down to becoming educated about safe and unsafe sound levels.

Safe Sounds:
• Daily conversation: 60 dB
• Daily conversation: 60 dB
• Telephone ring: 65 dB
• Alarm clock/Motor traffic/Vacuum Cleaner: 80 dB

Dangerous Noises:
• Lawnmower: 90 dB
• Chainsaw/Drills: 100 dB
• Live rock Music at a concert or club: 100 to 130 dB
• MP3 player ear buds: 100 dB and greater
• Sandblasting: 120 dB
• Gunshots: 150 to 170 dB

One of the biggest causes of adolescent hearing loss is the use of iPod and MP3 devices.

In fact, listening to earbuds, or in-ear headphones, for 90 minutes a day at 80% volume is probably safe for long-term hearing — a useful cutoff point to keep in mind. (But softer is better: you can safely tune in at 70% volume for about 4½ hours a day.)

The risk of permanent hearing loss can increase with just five minutes of exposure a day to music at full volume.

Over time, the noise can damage the delicate hair cells in the inner ear that transform sound waves to the electrical signals that the brain understands as sound. definitely monitoring volume of music devices will save your hearing in the long-term.

Also, working around any machinery or loud noises can also cause long-term damage. It is best to have your hearing tested annually in order to accurately monitor your hearing levels.

Only about 14% of people actually have their hearing tested at the time of the annual physical exam!

Noise Induced Hearing Loss - Deafness due to loud noises leads to sensorineural hearing loss, which means areas of the inner ear have been destroyed.

With this type of loss, those afflicted can typically only hear very loud sounds or voices. This loss is caused by frequent exposure to sounds greater than 85 decibels (dB), and is different from conductive hearing loss, which results from damage build-up of ear wax, ear disorders, or a punctured ear drum. Noise-induced hearing loss can be prevented by using the decibel guide below to regulate exposure to sounds that are too loud.

Noise-induced hearing loss is a particular hazard for workers in jobs where perpetually loud sounds cannot be avoided. Steelworkers, musicians, construction workers, and military soldiers are just some of the professionals at risk for sensorineural hearing loss.

Wearing ear plugs and ear covers can reduce exposure by up to 30 decibels for these workers. Protective gear can be bought at drug stores and hardware stores.

Online:
http://www.beltonene.com