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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that may damage or lead to loss of the hairs and nerve cells in your inner ear include:
- Aging. Exposure to sounds over the years can damage the cells of your inner ear.
- Heredity. Your genetic makeup may make you more susceptible to ear damage.
- Occupational noises. Jobs where loud noise is a regular part of the working environment, such as farming, construction or factory work, can lead to damage inside your ear.
- Recreational noises. Exposure to explosive noises, such as from firearms and fireworks, can cause immediate, permanent hearing loss. Other recreational activities with dangerously high noise levels include snowmobiling, motorcycling or listening to loud music. Personal music players such as MP3 players can cause lasting hearing loss if you turn the volume up high enough to mask the sound of other loud noises, such as a lawn mower.
- Some medications. Drugs such as the antibiotic gentamicin and certain chemotherapy drugs can damage the inner ear. Temporary effects on your hearing — ringing in the ear (tinnitus) or hearing loss — can occur if you take very high doses of aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antimalarial drugs or loop diuretics.
- Some illnesses. Diseases or illnesses that result in high fever, such as meningitis, may damage the cochlea.
Comparing loudness of common sounds
What kind of decibel levels are you exposed to during a typical day? To give you an idea, compare noises around you to these specific sounds and their corresponding decibel levels:
| Sound levels of common noises | |
|---|---|
| Decibels | Noise source |
| Safe range | |
| 30 | Whisper |
| 60 | Normal conversation |
| 70 | Washing machine |
| Risk range | |
| 85 to 90 | Heavy city traffic, power lawn mower, hair dryer |
| 95 | Motorcycle |
| 100 | Snowmobile, hand drill |
| 110 | Chain saw, rock concert |
| Injury range | |
| 120 | Ambulance siren |
| 140 (pain threshold) | Jet engine at takeoff |
| 165 | 12-guage shotgun blast |
| 180 | Rocket launch |
Adapted from National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2008, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2009, and American Tinnitus Association, 2009
Maximum sound-exposure durations
Below are the maximum noise levels on the job to which you should be exposed without hearing protection, and for how long.
| Maximum job-noise exposure allowed by law | |
|---|---|
| Sound level, decibels | Duration, daily |
| 90 | 8 hours |
| 92 | 6 hours |
| 95 | 4 hours |
| 97 | 3 hours |
| 100 | 2 hours |
| 102 | 1.5 hours |
| 105 | 1 hour |
| 110 | 30 minutes |
| 115 | 15 minutes or less |
Source: Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration, 2005
- Hearing loss. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. http://nihseniorhealth.gov/hearingloss/hearinglossdefined/01.html. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Weber PC. Evaluation of hearing loss in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Medwetsky L. Hearing loss. In: Duthie EH, et al. Practice of Geriatrics. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/146634551-3/0/1532/189.html?tocnode=53845996&fromURL=189.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2261-9..50026-4_447. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Kozak AT, et al. Hearing loss. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America. 2009; 42:79.
- Weber PC. Etiology of hearing loss in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Drug-induced ototoxicity. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec08/ch086/ch086d.html. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Occupational noise exposure — 1910.95. U.S. Department of Labor. http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9735. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Hidalgo JL, et al. The hearing-dependent daily activities scale to evaluate impact of hearing loss in older people. Annals of Family Medicine. 2008;6:441.
- Katbamna B, et al. Acquired hearing loss in adolescents. Pediatric Clinics of North America. 2008:55;1391.
- Common sounds. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/education/teachers/common_sounds.asp. Accessed June 26, 2009.
- Takahashi PY (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 1, 2009.
- Learn more about hearing loss prevention: Noise meter. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Accessed July 15, 2009.
- How loud is too loud? American Tinnitus Association. http://www.ata.org/about-tinnitus/how-loud-too-loud. Accessed July 15, 2009.
