R U DEAF AWARE?

Rock and Roll music can cause both temporary and permanent damage to the inner ear. Damage may occur from one extremely loud session of exposure to noise or it may occur from sustained exposure to lesser noise levels. Most rock and roll musicians received their hearing damage from either amplified live music or listening to music on headphones.

Pete Townshend of The Who has been an outspoken critic on hearing loss. He attributes his own hearing loss to headphones at recording sessions. Townshend has been warning young people about Walkman and iPod use. He says, "My intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead." Townshend regrets his own hearing loss and wants to save others from the same self-inflicted disability. Townshend revealed, "Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired."

Here are some comparisons of noise levels and possible damage:

• Sustained exposure causing possible hearing loss - 90-95dB
• Walkman on 5/10 - 94dB
• Power mower - 107dB
• Amplifier rock, 4-6' - 120dB
• Pain begins at a level of about 125dB
• Rock music peak 150dB

Of course, Pete Townshend isn't the only rock and roller to have hearing problems. Hearing loss is wide-spread in the industry. Kevin Shields, guitarist/singer for My Bloody Valentine, says "I did the damage to my ears listening to mixes in headphones at very loud levels without giving my ears time to recover." Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac had a similar experience, "I was a major glutton for volume: 'Gotta feel it, gotta hear it.' Sooner or later you're going to pay the reaper."

Apple Computers is listening to the problem. They are now offering volume controls on two of its new iPod models, which enable the listener to set volume maximums lower than the manufacturer.

"In a world in which hearing problems are real, concerns are mounting and lawyers are looking to make gadget providers liable, the maker of the iPod music player has created new volume controls."
-- It'll still play the Ramones - Associated Press Article by May Wong

Sometimes change comes about by speaking out, like Pete Townshend, and sometimes change comes about by litigation. Early in 2006 a lawsuit was filed in Louisiana concerning iPod and hearing loss. Other manufacturers of listening devices are now issuing warnings and encouraging "listening responsibly."

Because if his own hearing loss and his efforts for hearing loss prevention, Pete Townshend has been nominated to the Rock and Roll Hard of Hearing Hall of Fame. The mission of the Rock and Roll Hard of Hearing Hall of Fame is to educate music lovers in safe listening procedures.

Recommendations from the Hard of Hearing Hall of Fame: keep the volume down and give your ears a rest. If someone else can hear your listening device, your volume is too high.

Can you have any control on whether you will lose your sense of hearing? There are many causes of deafness and certainly some are preventable.

Deafness can vary from mild to severe. Deafness at birth is called congenital deafness and that which occurs after birth is called adventitious deafness. The causes of adventitious deafness are many. Lifestyle has a vital responsibility for cause of hearing loss and one of the main causes of adventitious deafness is noise. Some common causes of deafness are:

• Hereditary Disorders: Hereditary deafness happens when the parents pass the defect on to their children. It means that people are born deaf and this is generally caused by the malformations of the inner ear.

• Genetic Disorders: Genetic deafness occurs when the baby is in the mother's womb.

• Prenatal Exposure to Disease: When pregnant mothers suffer from rubella, influenza or mumps, the baby born will either be deaf or will have some hearing problem.

• Noise: Loud noise like gunshots, firecrackers, explosions and rock concerts tends to damage the ear mechanisms. A single exposure to loud noise does not damage the eardrum. Repeated exposure to sound over a long period of time will affect the ear with moderate to severe hearing loss.

• Disease: There are certain diseases that cause loss of hearing such as meningitis, mumps, chicken pox and cytomegalovirus. In the case of meningitis, the inner ear tends to become inflamed which leads to deafness.

• Trauma: A hole in the eardrum, a fractured skull or changes in air pressure lead to deafness.

• Wax: The ear canal produces a waxy substance, which is useful in lubricating and protecting the tissues. This has to be cleaned out once in a while. If not done, the wax will build leading to short term deafness. Even foreign substances such as the tip of a cotton bud or a hairpin can cause hearing loss if they puncture the eardrum. This is not too serious as the eardrum heals on its own, although it can take a few weeks.

• Excess Mucus: Excess mucus is caused either due to the common cold, hay fever or other allergies. This blocks the Eustachian tube, which leads to loss of hearing.

• Ear Infections: During an ear infection, the fluid and pus fills in the middle ear. This does not allow full transmission of sound and leads to partial hearing.

• Drugs: There are certain drugs like chloroquine, which lead to temporary deafness.

• Age-related Hearing Loss: This type of hearing loss is commonly found in old people. This is normal and rarely leads to deafness. Age-related hearing loss also known as 'presbycusis' begins with loss of certain speech sounds like 'S', 'F' and 'T'.

• Tinnitus: Tinnitus is the ringing sound in the ears. Middle ear infection and damage caused by loud noises can cause tinnitus. This disease can cause psychiatric symptoms.

• Occupational Hearing Loss: Men working in bars, pubs, and nightclubs are liable to have their sense of hearing impaired. Such people are exposed to loud noise most of the time. The deafness is caused by the damage to the hair cells of the organ of Corti in the cochlea.

In addition to the above causes of deafness, there are many unknown causes. Loss of hearing is a serious problem. Some say it is worse than losing one's sight. People lose their quality of life due to the isolating nature of the condition.