Sound familiar? You’re at the wheel, stopped at a red light, when a car pulls up beside you and the blast from its earth-shattering audio system almost sets your car shaking. Loud noise causes hearing loss and, with more than two-thirds of young Australians listening to music through headphones, mostly at potentially unsafe levels, hearing loss is going to start happening much earlier in life.

Noise pollution

On a recent bushwalk along the banks of the Murrumbidgee River, the only sounds I could hear were my footfalls and the quiet flowing of the water. That’s the soundtrack nature intended – now we live in a raucous world and noise is a pollutant that damages our hearing.

'Loud noise is the most significant single cause of preventable hearing loss,’ says Professor Harvey Dillon from the National Acoustic Laboratory, the research arm of Australian Hearing.

Apart from noisy car stereos and prolonged use of headphones, 'nearly half of young Australians go to noisy bars or pubs at least once every three weeks,’ he adds.It’s not about being a spoilsport, but too many young people don’t realise damaged hearing can’t be restored.

Doing the damage

Your ear receives soundwaves that make the ear drum at the end of the ear canal vibrate. This vibration is passed via the hollow inner ear to the fluid-filled cochlea.

Thousands of hairs in the inner ear vibrate in various frequencies, which relate to the sounds heard. Nervous impulses travel to the brain so we can appreciate sound. But any sound loud and persistent enough destroys those fine hairs. Once this happens, it can’t be reversed.

Warning sign

Tinnitus is noise, clicking, ringing or whooshing in the ears when there is no physical noise. It’s a symptom that something’s going wrong with the delicately balanced system of hearing. Just about anything that goes wrong with our ears causes it, but loud noises top the bill. 'What is extremely worrying is research showing 60 per cent of all Australians experience noticeable tinnitus, and the rate’s higher with young people,' the professor says. 'This indicates damage has probably already been done.

Protect your ears

While many other factors, such as antibiotics, industrial chemicals, middle-ear infections and trauma can impair hearing, it’s what each of us does every day that’s most damaging.

'Elbow in the ear': It’s normal to clean the outer ear in the shower each day, but the only item that should ever go in the inner ear is the elbow. Sounds impossible? It is – what it means though is that nothing should go in there, not even cotton buds, for fear of harming the ear drum. Ear wax is the natural hydrating/moisturising agent for the ear, but if yours is like concrete, ask a chemist for wax-dissolving drops, use them for three days or see your GP for a gentle cleansing.

Bugs in the ear: Children often get infections in the throat and outer ear, which may need antibiotics. Swimmer’s ear tops the list and a doctor can treat the outer canal. Inner-ear infections are more common in children with big tonsils that block the inner passageway from the middle ear to the back of the throat.

Doctors used to be quick to prescribe antibiotics but now prefer to 'wait, watch and see', massage the inner ear tube and remove inflammatory mucus. Together with pain relief, this usually solves the problem.

Prevention’s always better than a cure, so follow these simple guidelines:

Volume control: Keep the volume on your headphones at a level so someone speaking to you at a normal volume can be heard if they’re an arm’s length away. Knowledge is power, so be aware of how damaging loud noise is and take steps to avoid it.

Be responsible: They’re your ears. Try limiting the time you’re exposed to loud noise, so if you’re at a club or a gig, don’t stand near the speakers. Just as you give yourself a break at work, go outside and give your ears a rest.

Teach the kids: When you’re mowing the lawn or using the leaf-blower, wear earmuffs. You can get an inexpensive pair at a hardware store, but they’re priceless for hearing protection.

Pardon? Test your hearing

It might surprise you but 60 per cent of 60-year-olds have a hearing impairment, and this statistic will worsen in future as youngsters – who are subtly destroying their hearing – start noticing the impairment much earlier.

It’s vital to test your hearing and it’s as easy as picking up the phone and spending five minutes on a call to TELSCREEN, a toll-free hearing check. The test has been developed by the National Acoustic Laboratories and is a public service from Australian Hearing. Call 1800 826 500 and follow the prompts. If you score poorly, you’ll be told how to follow it up.

Stay connected

If your hearing’s down but not out, hearing aids won’t restore it to normal, but they will go a long way towards making it less of a problem.

'What concerns me is so many people with untreated hearing impairment suffer isolation from their communities because they miss so much,’ Professor Dillon says. 'There can be an enormous loss of intimacy and connection with others.’

Although many people regard hearing aids as ugly and unsightly, modern versions can be discreet or flamboyantly stylish, custom designed and very efficient. They can even be matched to hair or skin colour or be a fashion accessory. Some even come with a small remote control so they can be connected to a mobile phone, MP3 player or TV.

Turn it down

The loudness of sound is measured in decibels (dB). Zero equates to approximately the softest sound audible to the human ear. Sounds of less than 75dB, even with long exposure, are unlikely to cause hearing loss.

The chart at right includes an MP3 player emitting 95dB. Notice that the noise coming from an angle grinder scores a factor of merely 3dB higher than this.

• Typical conversational speech measures about 65dB.
• In industrial situations, a level of above 85dB receives a bad scorecard.
• MP3 players are usually emitting levels of between 60dB to 100dB.
• A noisy nightclub comes in with a reading of about 110dB.

Hearing loss checklist:

Deafness can be caused by damage to the ear drum, by a blockage or a defect in the workings of the inner ear, nerve damage caused by loud music or deterioration as a result of the ageing process, health tome 1000 Cures for Over 200 Ailments (ABC Books, $45) states. Make an appointment with your GP if you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• Difficulty understanding people on the phone
• Confusion as to where sounds are coming from
• Misunderstanding what people are saying to you
• Ringing or rustling noises in the ear
• Earache 
• Discharge from the ear
• Dizziness
• Nausea