By Michelle Swartz

When you hear your favorite song on the radio, do you crank up the volume and sing along?

Of course! Who doesn’t enjoy a good song on the radio? But, there’s a reason why your parents ask you to turn down the music. The reason is simple. They want to protect your hearing.

Listening to loud, prolonged music can damage your hearing, causing temporary or permanent hearing loss. The damage to your ears is not immediate but over time, you can lose some of your hearing.

Temporary hearing loss can happen after being exposed for 15 minutes to loud noise. You also might get tinnitus, which is a medical term for “ringing in the ears.” It usually goes away but it’s a sign that you’ve been exposed to an excessive amount of loud music.

So read on to find out how hearing loss occurs and what you can do to prevent it. And remember, keep those radios and headphones on a respectable volume — for your ears’ sake!

Beware of MP3 players

People who own MP3 players enjoy listening to their favorite tunes but many aren’t aware of the potential dangers.

You must be careful when listening to your MP3 player since portable music players can produce sounds as loud as 130 decibels — much higher than the recommended 85.

The high decibels can cause hearing loss, depending on the length of exposure.

iPod users listen to music with earbuds, a type of headphone that fits just inside the outer ear. iPods can produce sounds of more than 115 decibels, a volume that can damage the hearing of a person exposed to the sound for a length of time.

Remember, if conversations and other noises are blocked, your MP3 player is too loud.

PUZZLE

Decibels are used to measure the loudness of noises.

Experts say that continued exposure to noise above 85 decibels over time will cause hearing loss. Noise levels above 140 decibels can cause damage to hearing after just one exposure!

So, it’s important to know certain decibel levels so you can protect your ears. Just how loud is 85 decibels? A dial tone on a telephone is about 85 decibels as well as a portable cassette player on volume 2 out of 10.

Loud music, over time, can be dangerous because of its higher decibel levels. The decibel range of amplified rock music is 110 to 130 decibels — a level that can damage hearing after four to 30 minutes of exposure a day.

Other forms of music also can be dangerous. A car stereo can be as high as 125 decibels and rock concerts can be higher than 110.

Listen up

Loud music can cause both temporary and permanent hearing loss, especially when headphones are used.

More than 28 million Americans suffer from some type of hearing impairments.

Exposure to loud noise can damage soft tissue of the ear, causing hearing loss. About 10 million Americans suffer from this type of hearing problem.

Too much noise leads to tinnitus, or a ringing in your ear. Up to 90 percent of tinnitus patients have some level of noise-induced hearing loss.

Ears seem to recover from loud rock concerts. However, years of exposure to concerts can lead to permanent hearing damage.

Give your ears a rest!

Wear earplugs or some kind of hearing protection when around loud sounds or if you go to a concert.

Be aware of noise. Whenever you can, turn down the volume on radios, television sets or speakers. If you can’t hear or be heard within 3 feet, the noise is too loud. Stay away from the source of the noise, if possible.

Rest your ears. Exposing your ears to long, excessive noise is harmful over time. Even though the damage isn’t immediate, loud noise eventually will hurt your ears.

Since most damage is due to repeated exposure, try to have some noise-free days.

Sources: Medical News Today, BBC Health, Kids Health and American Academy of Family Physicians