Doctors have warned that overuse of earphones and extended time spent in traditional markets are among causes for the early degeneration of hearing.
National Taiwan University Hospital department of otolaryngology doctor Liu Tien-chen (劉殿楨) said damage to hearing can be caused by congenital diseases, such as microtia, noise pollution, certain medications and aging.
The increasing number of children below the age of 10 who constantly use earphones, to the extent of wearing them while asleep, is depriving their ears of time to rest, Liu said, adding that with such use, they might need hearing aids by the time they reach 30.
Cheng Hsin General Hospital department of otolaryngology head Li Po-hung (力博宏) said there has been an increase in recent years in the number of patients aged below 30 with damaged hearing.
Li recounted a case of a senior-high school student who had poor hearing from a congenital condition and wore earphones all the time outside of the classroom.
The patient developed tinnitus to such a degree that he is unable to discern some sounds and is using hearing aids due to the degeneration of his hearing, Li said.
Li said that tinnitus is a sign that hearing has been damaged, adding that the cause of tinnitus is cellular damage in the inner ear that makes the brain work harder on sound reception resulting in the amplification of ambient noise.
Of the people who report hearing loss, one-third recover, one-third see no change and the rest eventually go deaf, Li said.
Sound levels at traditional markets can reach 85 decibels, Li said, adding that after eight hours in such conditions, people should let their ears rest.
When using earphones, the volume should not exceed 60 percent of the maximum volume, Li said, adding that people should stop using earphones after an hour to rest their ears, Li said.
Food and Drug Administration official Huang Yu-wen (黃育文), who heads the agency’s medical and cosmetic supplies division, said that doctors estimate only about a quarter of people with hearing regression use hearing aids.
Anyone who experiences hearing loss should visit a doctor and wear hearing aids if they are prescribed, Huang said, adding that the devices should be cleaned every day and kept dry.
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