Are you in your twenties? Did you know that you could be suffering from hearing impairment? The eye-popping fact may force you to sit up and take notice.
According to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 20 percent of the American population in their twenties is suffering from hearing loss issues.
Alarmingly, 53 percent of the hearing issues being faced by Americans is the result of day-to-day activities at home or work, which one takes for granted.
"About 20 million American adults have hearing damage indicative of noise exposure that probably comes from everyday activities in their home and community," notes Dr.Anne Schuchat, the acting director at CDC
Hearing Test
In a bid to find out if everyday noise was contributing to unsuspected hearing loss, the CDC analyzed more than 3,500 hearing test samples. These were gathered from adult participants who contributed in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2012
Based on the data collected by the CDC, around 24 percent of the people in the age bracket of 20 years to 69 years are estimated to suffer from hearing impairment issues. Nearly 20 percent adults who are not exposed to loud noises in their work environment are also reported to be suffering from hearing impairment.
The surprising thing is that most of the people diagnosed with hearing impairment are not aware of the fact that they suffer from the condition.
Hearing loss is number three in the most commonly reported health conditions in the United States.
Reasons Behind Hearing Impairment
Hearing damages are mostly caused by daily activities that one indulges in. The regular sound of lawnmowers, leaf blowers, woodworking saws and other household machinery cause hearing damage.
In addition to these, hearing loud music via a headphone or earphone, attending loud music concerts or the constant pounding of music, traffic noises, live sporting events, sirens from different vehicles are also said to cause hearing damage.
According to the CDC, The traffic blares experienced while sitting in a car is 80 decibels, a leaf blower operates at 90 decibels and a live sporting event and rock concert produce 100 and 110 decibels of noise, respectively. Exposure to such high decibels for a minimum of 14 minutes is sufficient to cause hearing damage.
Prevention Of Hearing Loss
The CDC recommends that every individual should go for a regular or monthly hearing checkup. The agency also advises people to avoid noisy places as much as possible and use ear plugs, ear muffs to cancel out noise.
