While noise exposure is a common cause of hearing loss, other factors like age, genetics, smoking, diabetes, and high blood pressure can also contribute. The degree of hearing loss depends on how loud and long a person was exposed to noise. Studies show that with prolonged and loud noise exposure, hearing loss progresses in a predictable pattern and severity. However, once removed from loud noise, further progression can stop. It is important for people who have been exposed to loud noise to use hearing protection and get their hearing evaluated.

1. Is My Hearing Loss Due to Noise Exposure?
Logically, it makes sense: those who have
worked around high noise levels for many years
and have trouble hearing must have a hearing
loss that is caused strictly by noise exposure at
work, right?
In actuality, other factors can play a role in how
much hearing loss a person will have over the
course of their lifetime. For example, certain
health factors can make one person more
susceptible to injurious noise than another. Smoking, diabetes and high
blood pressure, for instance, can increase the amount of hearing loss
suffered from over-exposure to noise.
The “accumulation of birthdays”, a.k.a, getting older, can also be a factor in
the amount of hearing loss a person may have. Genetics can also play a
part. So, the cause of one person’s hearing loss will depend on many
different factors. This fact is also why two people can work in the same
company for the same length of time doing similar jobs and have very
different hearing losses.
When hearing loss is due to an over-exposure to noise, a very predictable
pattern of hearing loss as well as a somewhat predictable degree of hearing
loss will emerge. The amount of loss a person will experience is based on
how loud the noise was during the actual exposure itself and how long the
exposure lasted.
Long- term studies have been completed with the help of individuals who
experienced up to 40 years of sustained noise exposure and with varying
levels of noise exposure. The people involved with the studies had a hearing
test every year.
The results provided a means of determining the pattern, type and severity
of hearing loss that is typical of long-term noise exposure based on the
number of years that noise was experienced and the loudness of the noise
itself. Researchers found that hearing loss from over- exposure to noise
causes a certain and progressive loss of hearing as long as the person
Austin Hearing Services, Inc
6805 N Capital of Texas Highway, Austin, TX 78731
(512) 851-0847

2. continued to be exposed to that noise without the protection that proper
earplugs or ear muffs provide.
Interestingly, once someone stops working around noise, the progression of
the hearing loss can stop all together. It still is important to protect hearing
and be diligent about good health practices.
If you think you have hearing loss due to noise exposure, there are two
things to do right away: first, make sure to invest in good ear protection.
Using ear protection in any instance of loud noise will make sure that you do
not experience more hearing loss due to noise exposure. Second, make an
appointment for a hearing evaluation.
This is important because hearing loss due to noise exposure can progress
over time, making you unaware of how much you may be missing. We’ll be
glad to test your hearing and make suggestions on how to best protect your
ears from further damage.
Austin Hearing Services, Inc
6805 N Capital of Texas Highway, Austin, TX 78731
(512) 851-0847