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Experts warn against listening to loud music on headphones

Dubai - Recreational noise from personal listening devices can cause hearing impairment, warn experts.

Listening to loud music over your headphones or earphones could cause hearing impairments, according to leading experts.
Dr Lubaina Sharafally, a clinical audiologist at the American Hospital said, "People exposed to noise levels over 85 decibels for long durations are at an increased risk for acoustic trauma. This trauma can occur in a work setting, aviation industry, oil and gas or construction where individuals are exposed to loud noise for long durations repetitively."
She added, "Recreational noise exposure is commonly seen in people who like to go to shooting ranges or noisy clubs without exercising any hearing protection, that is earplugs or earmuffs. Need for hearing conservation with the use of earmuffs, customized hearing protection, ear plugs apply to all ages and to any person who is exposed to loud sounds or noise."
Stephan Jansen Van Vuuren, 41, a Dubai-based Air traffic controller, said, "Given the nature of my job, I undergo a stringent medical examination on an annual basis where my eyes and ears are tested. It was during one of these tests that I noticed a bit of a loss."
He added, "My doctor at the time suspected the sound of the rifle fired during my military service caused the initial damage to one ear, the one closest to the rifle. But later on, I suspect loud music, aircraft noise at airshows and the noise of a hairdryer I use to leave on to help me fall asleep, have also contributed to the damage. Today, any sudden unannounced loud noise would give me such a fright that I would lash out if it was created by a person in my proximity."
Once the hearing is lost, it won't come back" cautioned the doctor. Sharafally, "so it's important to understand the hazards of noise exposure, practice good hearing health and protect your hearing for life." She recommends using the noise feature on wearable devices, such as the Apple Watch Noise feature that can assist one to identify noise and limit the effects of noise exposure, as noise, can damage hearing in a silent manner and create irreversible loss leading to severe communication difficulties.
Twenty-nine-year-old Nelly Attar, the owner of Move Riyadh Studio, Saudi Arabia's first dance studio, loved her music loud in her younger days.
She said, "I used to always blast music in my ears to dance, put the highest volume in my car and go out often to places with very loud music. I took my ears for granted for many years thinking nothing could go wrong." Over time, Attar developed tinnitus permanently - a condition where which causes the perception of noise or ringing in the ears. A common problem, tinnitus affects about 15 to 20 per cent of people.
"I remember having a very bad ear infection one time and going to a friend's birthday celebration. Once I got back home that night, I started experiencing a ringing sound in my ears. Since then I developed tinnitus permanently, it's been eight years now," she said.
Attar adds "My ears were delicate and fragile and long exposure to loud sounds throughout my teenage years prompted me to develop tinnitus. she admits "I had warning signs, but if you don't know how to read those signs, you continue to ignore them until it's too late"
World Hearing Day
Every year, the March 3 marks World Hearing Day, an international day to raise awareness on deafness and hearing loss prevention and to promote ear and hearing care across the world. Hearing loss, which worsens with age, affects more than 360 million people worldwide, this is about 5 per cent of the world's population, according to. World Health Organization (WHO).
The study said, "Roughly half of the people aged 12-35 are at risk of hearing loss."
In the UAE, there's a significant number of people affected by deafness and hearing disabilities. Hearing loss does not only affect immediate perception but can also contribute to cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, hypertension and even dementia.
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How to protect your ears 
Listen to what your ears are telling you: If you start hearing or experiencing buzzing or ringing sounds in your ears it is a sign that you should give your ears a rest, allow yourself a day of peace and quiet and turn the volume well down in the future. For example, Dr Sharafally said the Noise app on Apple Watch alerts you when decibels rise to levels that can impact your hearing.
Learn the 60x60 rule: Everyone loves music, but since the combination of volume and length of listening can cause major damage, researchers recommend listening to your music at 60 per cent of the maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes a day. Ears that get a rest have time to recover and are less likely to be permanently damaged. The same rule applies if you sending music directly to your ears via headphones.
Use volume control  & sound check on your device: Aware of consumer concerns, some companies such as Apple offers a volume limit setting on your phone's software.  Alternatively, you could use iPhone sound Check feature which when turned on will give you a better music-listening experience but also protect your hearing.
Use noise-dampening or cancelling headphones:  If you listening to music via headphones, the noise around you may push you to turn the volume up, increasing your chances of hearing loss. To avoid such a habit it could be worth investing in some noise-cancellation earphones which will cut other external unwanted sounds, so a lower volume is needed to still enjoy the same audio experience.
Over 500 cochlear implants conducted

Dubai Hospital has performed more than 500 cochlear implants to restore hearing since the introduction of this service in 2013, said a top health official.
Dr Jamal Kassouma, ENT consultant at Dubai Hospital spoke ahead of World Hearing Day, which is held on 3 March each year to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and promote ear and hearing care across the world.
Dr Kassouma said that so far, a majority of the implants have been performed for children. The hospital is one of the few in the UAE to perform bilateral simultaneous cochlear implants and is recognised as a regional centre for cochlear implants and training in surgery.
Dr Kassouma said, "Since we have a stringent newborn screening policy and since every newborn is screened prior to discharge from the hospital, we detect any cases of hearing impairment early on. This means that babies receive early intervention, which is crucial for language and hearing development. Babies as young as seven months are fitted with the hearing aid and by one year, which is eligible and recommends age, children who require cochlear implants undergo surgery and are fitted with the implants. The inner implant does not require to be changed unless there is an issue, which is very rare, and the outer device may need to be changed if it is damaged."