On Yspot! today it's Health Matters with Lawrence Jimoh

What a great honour it is to have Lawrence Jimoh in the house. He has a Masters of Public Health in Environmental Health- very loaded I’d say. When it comes to environmental Health, I tell he's the guy to talk to. Well today, we are privilege to have him talk to us. Stay put as he tells us the effect of noise on the hearing ability. After reading this I’m so sure we will give our ears the needed care and attention and do our best to reduce our exposure to all forms of noise. Enjoy!

Noise is the most physical cause of hearing impairment globally. In a sustainable development submit held in Ibadan a professor blurted out that by nature Nigerians are very noisy because it is supported by their culture. If this is true, it implies that the prevalence of hearing impairment is higher in Nigeria compared to other countries whose culture does not support noise and have functional policies to tackle noise problems. Below are some effects of noise to health

Ø Hearing loss

Ø Sleep disturbance

Ø Increased aggression

Ø Increased stress

Ø Increased cranial and migraine headache

Ø Ear pain

Ø Destruction or rupture of the ear drum- Deafness

Daily we are greeted by the sound of events; the tick of a clock, roaring of traffic, pleasure of music, singing of birds and many more. The perception of these sounds is made possible by the Ear- a pair on each side of the head with an external visible extension (pinna) present on most mammal. The ear performs the duo function of hearing and balance and too often this role is taken for granted evidenced by the violent sound we are exposed to in the workplace, concerts, parties/celebration, religious centers and most commonly earphones from portable digital media or mobile phones. Doctors in the United States rated hearing as the most often ignored sensual function. At first the immediate effect of this violent sound is not noticed on a short term, but continual exposure can result into Hearing impairment- a deterioration of hearing function.

Hearing plays a vital role in language acquisition, speech development and communication. Factors that are threat to hearing function are: noise, radiation from mobile phones, traumatic accident or hitting to the head, loud sound or impact (gunshot, bomb, bangs, etc) and certain antibiotics. Hearing impairment is classified into mild, moderate to profound. In most cases mild and moderate cases are prevalent among most adult. In profound cases hearing function is almost lost. The initial cases of hearing impairment often go unnoticed; as a result most people ignore the symptoms. Some of these symptoms include:

Ø Ringing in the ear (tinnitus)

Ø Ear pin

Ø Head ache

Ø Reduced hearing ability after being exposed to loud noise

Ø Reading of the lips because the words of cannot be heard

Ø Asking for repetition of words being spoken

Surprisingly, hearing impairment is an irreversible disability; it can only be treated but does not have any cure. Sure it can be managed, but people having hearing impairment are functionally disabled. Here are some important truths about your ears and hearing function you must know:

Ø 80% of Communication is tied to hearing

Ø Damage to hearing function is irreversible

Ø Children are most at risk of losing their hearing function

Ø Resting in a quiet place is very important for your ears to recover from any temporal damage

Ø Noise to ears is like poison to your stomach

Ø Once hearing in children is lost their learning is hampered

The Good news is hearing can be protected and the simplest ways are

Avoidance

v Avoid exposure to loud music

v Avoid staying close to the sound systems

v Avoid loud clubs, celebrations and wild parties

v Avoid the use fireworks

Reduction

v Reduce the volume of your media player to the lest level that can be heard

v Reduce the use of mobile phone calls for long conversation

v Reduce your frequency to noisy environment

Hearing protection

v Wear ear plugs when you cannot reduce the source of the noise

v Ears of children and babies should also be protected with ears plugs or ear muff

Health education

v Technical professionals should be enlightened on the effect of loud sound on hearing function

v Also the general public should be enlightened on the dangers of exposure to loud sound

It is advisable that routine hearing function test should be carried out on your ears to determine the hearing function of your ear. This should be done at least once annually.

Finally, the best sound quality produced is always not the loudest. Rather it has balance and it is gentle to hearing.

Guys! those ears are your responsibility *wink* , you do yourself a big favour by keep watch over what you let into them both.  
 Lawrence Jimoh