Hearing loss is all too familiar for Ball State University student Tucker Day, a sophomore music education major. Day has played music for nine years. Recently he noticed he was losing his hearing, but he said he is too passionate about his music to really think about it.
"I know playing music will affect my hearing, but I don't really think about it," he said. "If losing my hearing is an alternative to doing something I'm passionate about, that's OK. Bach lost his hearing but he still did what he did."
Ball State students who think they might have a hearing problem can get free hearing tests at the Ball State audiology clinic.
About half of the patients who visit the clinic are from Ball State, and the clinic offers free hearing tests to faculty and students as a professional courtesy for the university supporting and financing it, David Coffin, Ball State audiology program director, said. People who listen to music too loudly or keep the television volume up too high are at an increased risk of damaging their hearing, he said.
"Unlike most clinics that only survive from the income their patients provide, we're supported by the university," Coffin said. "As a training facility we are able to provide the free tests to faculty and students whereas people who are not affiliated with Ball State have to pay $50 to $90 depending on the type of test they get."
A whispered voice, at 30 decibels, to a normal conversation, at 60 decibels, is safe for the ear according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. A decibel is a measurement of sound levels in an area.
Prolonged exposure to heavy city traffic, at 85 decibels, can cause gradual hearing loss. Anything 110 decibels or higher, such as a chain saw, rock concert, ambulance siren or firecrackers, can increase the risk of permanent hearing loss if regularly exposed for more than one minute.
A general rule is if a person has to speak above a noise to have a normal conversation, the noise is too loud, Jamie Gabbard, an audiology doctor at Ball Memorial Hospital, said. For example, if a student was listening to his iPod and could not hear a friend next to him speak, the music is too loud, she said.
"Our clinic offers three free screenings in May for Better Speech and Hearing Month and have two days a year when we have free screenings for infants to 4-year-old children who are at risk," she said. "A lot of people who come in complain about hearing loss or ringing."
People tend to notice over time that they cannot hear as well as they used to or hear ringing, Coffin said. Loud music is generally the cause, but patients do not like to admit their music was too loud, he said.
"We are starting to see younger people come into the clinic now," he said. "There is a common stereotype that hearing loss is a sign of getting older, but we are seeing people in their 40s or 50s if not younger. Most times it seems that music being played too loudly is the problem."
Day said he wears earplugs when he plays percussion instruments, but has not received help for his hearing problem because he feels it is not bad enough to worry.
"It's not really a problem, I just have to focus on things around me more," he said. "It won't get bad until I get older because it's a long term effect."
Students who start to notice hearing problems can wear headphones with outside earmuffs when listening to music to help lower the risk of having hearing problems.
Wearing these headphones help distribute noise and prevent projecting the sound directly into the ear canal, Gabbard said. The outside earmuffs leave the ear open and allow the sound to escape, unlike earphones that go directly into the ear and project the sound closer to the eardrum, she said.
Earplugs can also protect people's ears from outside noises such as mowing a lawn.
Both earplugs and headphones can be bought at stores such as Wal-Mart, pharmacies or audiology clinics.
"There are ways to help reduce noise levels and protect yourself from hearing loss, but the best advice I can give is to not blare your music," Gabbard said.
To learn more about the ear and hearing please visit the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing.
To make an appointment to get your hearing checked please call the Ball State audiology clinic at 285-8160.
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