Noise

Summary

Noise is all around you, from televisions and radios to lawn mowers and washing machines. Normally, you hear these sounds at safe levels that don’t affect hearing. But sounds that are too loud or loud sounds over a long time are harmful. They can damage sensitive structures of the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing loss.

More than 30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous sound levels on a regular basis. Hazardous sound levels are louder than 80 decibels. That’s not as loud as traffic on a busy street. Listening to loud music, especially on headphones, is a common cause of noise-induced hearing loss. You can protect your hearing by:

• Keeping the volume down when listening to music
• Wearing earplugs when using loud equipment

NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Patient Handouts

• Acoustic trauma Medical Encyclopedia
• Hearing loss and music Medical Encyclopedia

Children

• Can Loud Music Hurt My Ears? Nemours Foundation

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Noise National Institutes of Health

Start Here

• Hearing: Noise-Induced Hearing Loss American Academy of Family Physicians
• Noise Pollution Environmental Protection Agency
• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Related Issues

• Keeping Noise Down on the Farm National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
• Occupational Noise Exposure Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Find an Expert

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Teenagers

• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Journal Articles

• Noise

Statistics and Research

• Too Loud! For Too Long! Centers for Disease Control and Prevention