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The Issue

Some studies suggest that manyteenagers and young adults havealready experienced permanent hearingloss caused by exposure to excessivenoise from a variety of leisure activities.

Background

How Sound Levels and Duration arelinked to Hearing LossScientists measure the levels of differentsounds with a unit called the A-weighteddecibel (dBA).

There is no known risk of hearing lossassociated with sound levels below 70dBA, no matter how long you are

exposed to the sounds. However, assound levels increase, the duration ofdaily exposure becomes an importantrisk factor for hearing loss.

You can use the following indicators toestimate whether the sound levelsaround you and the duration of yourexposure pose a risk of a gradual, noise-induced hearing loss:

• If someone standing a metre awayfrom you has to shout to be under-stood, the sound levels around youprobably exceed 85 dBA. You face asignificant risk of permanent hearingloss if you are exposed to thesesound levels for eight hours or moreper day.

• If someone standing 30 cm away hasto shout to be understood, the levelsprobably exceed 95 dBA. Thismeans a significant risk of permanent

hearing loss if you are exposed foabout 45 minutes or more per day

• If someone has to shout into yourto be understood, the sound levelaround you probably exceed 105dBA. This poses a significant risk permanent hearing loss if you areexposed for just five minutes per

• If after a loud sound has stoppedyou experience a temporary hearloss. For example, you may noticethat other sounds seem muffled, qeter, or less clear.

• If after a loud sound has stoppedyou experience tinnitus. This is aringing, buzzing, roaring, or rushinsound in the ear, which does nothave a source outside the ear.

The Findings

The following are some ranges of soulevels found to be associated with leisactivities:

• Power tools: 85 to 113 dBA

• Home and car audio: 84 to 108 d

• Music in dance bars: 90 to 110 d• Personal stereo systems: 60 to 1dBA

• Music in fitness classes: 89 to 96dBA

All of these activities pose a potentialrisk of a gradual, noise-induced heariloss, depending on the actual sound

HEARING LOSS AND

LEISURE NOISE

HealthCanada

SantéCanada It’s Your HealthIt’s Your Health

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action is the Hazardous ProductsAct, which states that no chil-dren’s toy, as ordinarily used,should produce sound levelsexceeding 100 dB.

To help prevent hearing loss,Health Canada has reviewed cur-

rent scientific studies and hasconducted measurements toassess the potential risks ofleisure noise.

Need More Info?

The Consumer and ClinicalRadiation Bureau,Health Canada,775 Brookfield Road,

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1C1Tel.: (613) 954-6699

It’s Your Health: Personal StereoSystemshttp://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/ iyh/lifestyles/stereo.html

Wise Ears Websitehttp://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/ wise/index.htm

Practice Safe Listening (TheHearing Foundation of Canada)http://www.thfc.ca/practice.html

level you are exposed to, and theduration of exposure. Forinstance, you could spend up totwo and a half hours every day ina dance bar with music at 90dBA without putting your hearingat significant risk, as long as youhad no other exposure to haz-ardous sounds. However, if thesound level of the dance barmusic is at 110 dBA, you wouldbe at significant risk for perma-nent hearing loss after only aminute and 30 seconds per day.

Another important finding is thataccidental exposure to anintense sound close to the ear,whether from a rifle, cap gun orfirecracker, can cause immediateand severe hearing loss that maybe permanent. If you areexposed to an intense sound likethis, stay in a relatively quietplace for 24 hours to rest theaffected ear(s). If your hearinghasn’t recovered fully after a day,contact your doctor in case youneed a test or examination. It isimportant to note that if you usefirearms for hunting or target

practice regularly, you are atincreased risk for permanenthearing loss, whether immediateor gradual.

Minimizing YourRisks

Take the following steps to pro-tect your hearing:

• Limit the amount of time youspend on leisure activitiesthat are excessively noisy.

• Keep your car and homeaudio at enjoyable but safelevels.

• When you’re at risk for noise-induced hearing loss, wear ahearing protection device

such as earplugs or earmuffs.The device should be as wellfitted as possible. Consult anaudiologist if you need assis-tance.

• If you experience temporaryhearing loss or tinnitus after

leisure or work activities, besure to schedule quiet timefollowing such activities toallow your ears to recoverfully.

• Avoid buying children’s toysthat produce excessively highsound levels. Remember,children may hold toys closerto their ears than adults.

Talk to your doctor if you haveconcerns about your hearing, orif you experience any of the earlysigns of hearing loss, including:

• Difficulty when trying to followa conversation when thereare background sounds (at asocial gathering, in a cafete-ria, etc.)

• The perception that people

mumble when they speak

• Tinnitus (as described above)

Finally, it’s important to realizethere is no way to know how sen-sitive your ears are to damagefrom sound, until the damage isdone. Prevention is the only wayto protect yourself against noise-induced hearing loss.

Health Canada’sRole

Health Canada provides informa-tion and regulations to help pre-vent hearing loss from exposureto excessive noise at work, athome, or at play. An example ofHealth Canada’s regulatory

ISBN# H50-3/166-2005E-PDF Catalogue# 0-662-39420-8

 © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Health, 2005Original: July 2002 Updated: January 2005