Hearing ability at birth is hereditary, but we need to do all we can to protect little ears from Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). With the onset of football season and the TV volume and yelling along with it, the question has been raised in our house, "How loud is too loud?"
Sound is measured in decibels, and certain levels warrant considerable ear protection or avoidance.
85 decibels = heavy city traffic. Prolonged exposure could cause gradual hearing loss.
100 decibels = wood shop, snow mobile. You should not be exposed and unprotected for more than 15 minutes.
110 = chain saw, rock concert. Regular exposure for more than one minute could cause permanent hearing loss.
85 decibels = heavy city traffic. Prolonged exposure could cause gradual hearing loss.
100 decibels = wood shop, snow mobile. You should not be exposed and unprotected for more than 15 minutes.
110 = chain saw, rock concert. Regular exposure for more than one minute could cause permanent hearing loss.
FYI, firecrackers are 150 decibels.
If you have suspected that your child may have hearing impairment, check out this questionnaire by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/silence.asp. Their homepage (http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/index.asp) will lead tons of other great info, too (and they didn't even pay me to say that!).
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