Avoid excessive noise by wearing ear plugs

Jan 18, 2009

IT could be the sound from a television, radio, household appliances or traffic. We are accustomed to hearing these sounds at safe levels. Josephine Senyonga, an audiologist and ear mould lab technician at the Ear, Nose and Throat department in Mulago, sa

By Jacobs Odongo

IT could be the sound from a television, radio, household appliances or traffic. We are accustomed to hearing these sounds at safe levels. Josephine Senyonga, an audiologist and ear mould lab technician at the Ear, Nose and Throat department in Mulago, says when we are exposed to noise, sensitive structures in our inner ear can be damaged. This could cause noise-induced hearing loss.

Hearing loss is deterioration in hearing while deafness is total hearing loss. Senyonga explains that hair cells, located in the inner ear, convert sound energy into electrical signals that travel to the brain. She says once damaged, hair cells cannot grow back and the hearing loss remains permanent.

She, however, notes that exposure to impulse and continuous noise may cause only temporary hearing loss. “If a person regains hearing, the temporary hearing loss is called a temporary threshold shift.

The temporary threshold shift largely disappears 16 to 48 hours after exposure to loud noise,” she says.

Noise-induced hearing loss is preventable. “The best preventive method is not to expose oneself to excessive noise,” she says. For those who are exposed to both impulse and continuous noise, regular use of hearing protectors such as earplugs or earmuffs will surfice.”

She implores parents to ensure the ears of children are protected from loud noise.
If you suspect hearing loss, have a medical examination by an otolaryngologist and a hearing test by an audiologist.

If you intend to use earplugs, have them custom made for you. “No two ears are alike. Children, in particular, need to have new earplugs made regularly as their ears grow and mature. Only when the general-made earplug fits one’s ear well will it offer optimum protection,” Senyonga says.

At the Kampala Audiology and Speech Centre on Bombo Road where earplugs are made and fitted, Jackson Mbuusi, a technician, said the price of a pair ranges
between sh5O,000 and shl00,000.

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