Most people do not like loud noise. Some people have particularly sensitive ears, they cannot bear ordinary levels of noise.
Hyper sensitive hearing is most commonly associated with hearing loss.Have you noticed how some older people ask you to speak up a bit. After a while they may ask you to stop shouting or they may say "I'm not deaf".
Loudness discomfort is typically a problem for people that suffer from a sensorinueral hearing loss (A sensorineural hearing loss is caused by damage or a disorder of the inner ear, or of the auditory nerve, nerve fibres going from the inner ear to the brain stem).
However this is not a problem who suffer from a conductive hearing loss(A conductive hearing loss involves the breakdown or obstruction of some part of the external or middle ear which transmits or conducts the physical vibrations of sound through air, bone or tissue.)
As we age, the number of hair cells and nerve fibres that are responsible for picking up in the inner ear is reduced.The ability to grade different intensities of sound is reduced. How do we compensate for this?
Our brain will "switch on " all remaining nerve fibres to produce almost maximum loudness. As a result, even quite moderate sounds may seem to be unbearably loud.
The dynamic range is narrowed or reduced in the ears: If sounds are heard at all, they are heard as loud noises.
When a person suffers from hearing loss and needs to use hearing instruments, the hearing instruments should not overload the ear with amplified sound. To overcome this, many hearing instruments have "peak clipping". Another more sophisticated form of compression is known as automatic volume control.
Some recent research has shown that in some cases the use of white noise applied to the ear by a white noise generator masker can help.
Showing posts with label loud noise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loud noise. Show all posts
Friday, November 18, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
What is deafness from noise?
Deafness or hearing impairment resulting from prolonged exposure to loud noise is most frequently associated with industrial workplaces, airports etc. The damaging effects of this kind of noise are also the most studied type of noise-induced hearing loss.
But according to an article in "The Hearing Review", February 1999, by otolaryngolist Ken Einhorn, up to 52 % of classical musicians and up to 30 % of rock or pop musicians suffer from music-induced hearing loss, MIHL. It is hardly surprising that music can cause damage while on the job. The sound pressure of a large concert orchestra may reach 112 dB - of amplified rock bands even up to 130 dB, far more than that accepted in an industrial environment.
For the musicians who are regularly subjected to this kind of noise, the resulting problems can be devastating described as noise induced hearing loss. Symptoms begin with losing the ability to hear high-frequency sounds and tones.
In many cases, this causes problems for musicians and singers who must be able to hear and play high notes equally as well as low ones in order to play or sing along with other orchestra members. Often, a musician who suffers from loss of high frequency hearing will try to compensate by playing louder at high-pitched notes, which leads to an artistically unacceptable performance.
As the problem grows, the musician might react oversensitively: suffer from increased blood pressure, headaches, fatigue or experience some sounds or instruments as being painfully loud, a state that often leads to tinnitus.
Another common symptom is the inability to perceive changes in pitch. This state, known as displacusis, is extremely problematic for singers, who have to be in control of their voice and stay in tune at all times. A hearing-impaired singer is also at risk of damaging his or her own her voice by constantly singing louder in order to monitor his/her own voice.
But according to an article in "The Hearing Review", February 1999, by otolaryngolist Ken Einhorn, up to 52 % of classical musicians and up to 30 % of rock or pop musicians suffer from music-induced hearing loss, MIHL. It is hardly surprising that music can cause damage while on the job. The sound pressure of a large concert orchestra may reach 112 dB - of amplified rock bands even up to 130 dB, far more than that accepted in an industrial environment.
For the musicians who are regularly subjected to this kind of noise, the resulting problems can be devastating described as noise induced hearing loss. Symptoms begin with losing the ability to hear high-frequency sounds and tones.
In many cases, this causes problems for musicians and singers who must be able to hear and play high notes equally as well as low ones in order to play or sing along with other orchestra members. Often, a musician who suffers from loss of high frequency hearing will try to compensate by playing louder at high-pitched notes, which leads to an artistically unacceptable performance.
As the problem grows, the musician might react oversensitively: suffer from increased blood pressure, headaches, fatigue or experience some sounds or instruments as being painfully loud, a state that often leads to tinnitus.
Another common symptom is the inability to perceive changes in pitch. This state, known as displacusis, is extremely problematic for singers, who have to be in control of their voice and stay in tune at all times. A hearing-impaired singer is also at risk of damaging his or her own her voice by constantly singing louder in order to monitor his/her own voice.
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