You can sustain hearing loss at work, play or around the house

Q. I’m worried about my hearing because I played in a rock band when I was a kid. How dangerous is the sound level on the bandstand?

Sound volume is measured in decibels (dB). You risk hearing loss when you are exposed to sounds at 85 decibels or more. The louder the sound and the longer the exposure, the greater the risk.

Here’s the bad news: rock music is on many lists as an example of a dangerous sound.

Here’s one of those lists:

30 dB: library 
50 dB: rain 
60 dB: conversation
70 dB: vacuum cleaner 
80 dB: busy street 
90 dB: shop tools 
100 dB: chain saw 
110 dB: rock music among audience 
120 dB: rock music on bandstand 
130 dB: jackhammer 
140 dB: air raid siren 
150 dB: rock music crescendo

If I played electric guitar in the ’60s next to one of those gigundo amplifiers, I’d get to a doctor for an ear exam. You don’t have to be a rocker to suffer from noise-induced hearing loss; anyone at any age can be a victim. About 10 percent of Americans between ages 20 and 69 already may have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive noise.

You can sustain NIHL at work, play or sitting around the house. Music players turned up too high can damage your ears. Woodworking can be an unsafe hobby. Leaf blowers reach hazardous sound levels.

Most people’s hearing diminishes with age. About one in three Americans over 60 suffers from some loss of hearing, which can range from the inability to hear certain voices to deafness. Those who are healthy and not exposed to loud noise can maintain their hearing for many years.

The first symptom of NIHL is the inability to pick up high-pitched sounds, or not understanding conversation in a crowd. As hearing declines, you lose the lower-pitched sounds.

Prevention is the key to NIHL. Here is some advice to avoid damage to your ears:

• Avoid exposure to noise when possible.

• When you can’t avoid noise, wear earplugs that are available in drugstores. Earplugs can stop 25 dB of sound. Cotton in your ears doesn’t work.

• You can cut down noise in the home with rubber mats under appliances and carpets on floors. Drapes on windows help keep outside noise from coming into you home.

• Turn down the volume on TVs, radios, music sound systems and portable music players. Be especially careful to keep the volume down if you wear ear buds.

• Don’t sit near speakers at concerts, dances or weddings.

• Look for noise ratings when buying any product that creates sound such a hair dryer. Choose quieter models.