It’s true. Between our usual environmental exposure to noise, like lawn maintenance equipment and live concerts, we’ve increased the time we spend with the latest ear buds or headphones connected to our personal devices, and it’s eroding our health.

The problem has become so widespread that the World Health Organization (WHO) designated March 3 as World Hearing Day to draw attention to the problem, and is also advocating new standards for what it calls “safe listening,” issuing this warning:

“Over 1 billion people aged 12 to 35 years risk losing their hearing due to prolonged and excessive exposure to loud music and other recreational sounds. This can have devastating consequences for their physical and mental health, education, and employment prospects.”

To underscore the seriousness of the issue, the CDC joins WHO and the Hearing Health Foundation in their calls for action, warning that noise-induced hearing loss is already impacting children as young as age 6:

“An estimated 12.5% of children and adolescents aged 6-19 years (approximately 5.2 million) and 17% of adults aged 20-69 years (approximately 26 million) have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive exposure to noise.”

Recent studies have linked hearing loss to dementia as we get older. While treatments and devices such as hearing aids can help, it provides yet another reason to take our hearing health—and that of our young family members—seriously.  

Ways to prevent hearing loss

While hearing loss is permanent, it is preventable. Here are some easy steps you can take to help protect your and your family’s hearing:

• Use protection. Use sound-cancelling headphones. This includes operating yard machinery, using power tools, and riding on certain vehicles such as snowmobiles. If you are a frequent air traveler, you might already use these headphones to help you sleep, but consider putting them on during takeoff, as well.
• Reduce exposure to loud events. The CDC warns that prolonged exposure to noises can start to damage hearing.  If you are attending a concert, sporting event, or any loud event with children, make sure they also have cancelling headphones that fit.
• Turn the volume down! It really is that simple – and particularly when using ear buds or headphones. If you turn up the volume on a personal listening device to its maximum – usually 105-110 dB – you can start to suffer hearing loss after 5 minutes.
• Get regular hearing evaluations. Fortunately, your Transocean benefits cover 100 percent of the cost of annual wellness exams, making it easy for you and your family to get your hearing checked at recommended intervals according to age and circumstances. And now, thanks to a recent change that allows hearing aids to be sold over-the-counter, those who aren’t enrolled in Transocean’s medical plan now have access to these devices at affordable prices.

Hearing is one of our phenomenal and valuable senses – taking a few painless precautions now can keep us hearing our best for years.