Understanding how the ear works will help you understand why you may have hearing loss and how to protect yourself. The following description may be difficult to follow with many scientific terms, but we hope you’ll be able to comprehend everything.

Structure of the Ear

The ear is a very complex structure. The pinna is the part of the ear that is on the exterior of your head. Following that is the auditory canal or ear canal, which leads to the eardrum and is only about 1 inch long. The canal also holds our earwax which traps dust and repels insects. The eardrums also called tympanic membrane vibrates when it comes in contact with sound.

Source: ARC Speech

Immediately after are a group of the smallest bones found in the human body, the ossicles. The ossicles are malleus (also known as hammer), incus (also known as anvil), and stapes (also known as stirrup). The malleus is attached to the eardrums, the incus is in the middle of the 2 bones, and stapes is attached to a window of the cochlea. The cochlea is found further into the ear and has a spiral and cone-shaped structure. Inside, is full of fluid and there are 18 000 stereocilia cells, or hair cells, that line the wall of the cochlea. Finally, the auditory or cochlea nerve links to the brain.

Path of Sound

When we hear, sound waves undergo a journey through all the mentioned structures of the ear and towards the brain. Sound waves are directed into the ear by the pinna and it also helps to perceive direction of sound. After travelling through the auditory canal, the sound waves hit the tympanic membrane causing it to vibrate at the frequency of the sound wave. In effect, the ossicles are activated. The malleus is first to vibrate and causes a ripple effect which vibrates the incus and then the stapes. The stapes then causes the fluid of the cochlea to move and in turn causes the hair cells to move. Finally, the hair cells generate electrical signals which are transferred to the brain by the cochlea nerve and our brain interprets these signals as sounds.

There are hundreds of millions of people that already have hearing loss or just about to, and many of them don’t even realize it! It’s important to understand what is and how to do deal with hearing loss. If you are new to hearing loss or even if you don’t have hearing loss, then this page will be perfect for you. Remember to bookmark this page for future references. We’ll be linking to a lot of important resources which we’ll update this page frequently.

Issues of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a devastating setback in life, and we start to have many questions. Will my hearing loss worsen? How do I repair my hearing? What caused my hearing loss? Calm down, we’ll be answering all your questions. First, you should get to understand how an ear works. Of course, this isn’t at all necessary but it will help you understand what’s going on in your body. Learn how an ear works here: Mechanics of Hearing – How the Ear Works

[ Last Updated June 4, 2011]

Dance Club

Statement: The sound levels at dance clubs should be regulated to protect club patrons and staff.

Expert’s opinion: Agreed.

Noise Induced Hearing Loss Regulation

At a young age, I had hearing damage, a condition called tinnitus. Tinnitus is when you hear ringing in your ear and mine was noise induced. As a musician for a lot of my life and having sensitive ears, this was the result of exposure to high sound levels. If something isn’t done to regulate sounds in the entertainment industry, millions of people may receive my condition and possibly get worse.

There are laws protecting industrial workers from harmful sound exposure, so there should be similar laws for the entertainment industry. An average club’s sound levels range from 90 dB to 100 dB and peaks can go up to 140 dB! According to a previous question asked by Mr. Chopin, these ranges will cause hearing damage and by 125 dB there will be pain the ears. Previous research has shown 64% of patrons at a nightclub for 1 hour and 95% during 4 of more hours risked hearing loss. Dr. Marek Roland-Mieszkowski is a leading scientist in the battle against high sound levels in the entertainment industry and his study shows that most club goers cannot recognize the difference between 85 dB of sound and 100 dB.  This gives plenty of reason for governments to implement a maximum sound limit on the entertainment industry. Patrons will be able to reduce risk of hearing loss and many won’t be able to distinguish the difference in sound levels. Also, with reduced amount of people with hearing loss, the Canadian government will save extra health costs.

With that said, club owners should also be responsible for warning patrons and staff about the dangers of high sound levels. In Dr. Roland-Mieszkowski’s study, he found many patrons and staff were ignorant to the problems of hearing loss. Here are some of the misconceptions he found in many patrons; loud sounds are not dangerous until pain is felt, hearing loss is only temporary, and hearing loss can be repaired medically. This shows us that many people are not well-informed about the dangers of high sound exposure. These people that go to nightclubs unknowingly damage their own hearing. If people knew about these dangers, they can make their own decision of trying to protect their hearing or knowingly expose themselves to dangers. Consequently, if people stop going to nightclubs due to high exposure to sounds, nightclub owners will be forced to decrease sound levels.

Dear Hearing Loss Wiki,

In Canada, what is the maximum level of noise allowed for the workplace environment, if one were to work for 8 continuous hours? Please describe instruments that measure sound as well.

Thanks,

Ludwig Van Beethoven.

In Canada, the maximum level of noise allowed for the workplace environment, if one were to work for 8 continuous hours is 87 dB. However, provincial and territorial jurisdictions can set their own noise exposure limits for 8 hours, such as Quebec at 90 dB and Ontario at 85 dB. When measuring sound in the workplace, there are 3 main instruments used – sound level meter, integrating sound level meter and a noise dosimeter.

The sound level meter (SLM) is made up of a stick-like microphone, a frequency weighting data, an rms circuit, a data processor and an output device. Sound passes through the microphone and the electronic circuits amplify and filter the sound and then measured and displayed on the output device which can be an LCD screen. The sound level meter only displays the instantaneous sound pressure level at a defined location.

When an average sound pressure level over a period of time is required, an integrating sound level meter (ISML) is used. This instrument works similarly to the sound level meter and dosimeter but measures instantaneous sound pressure levels over a period time at a defined location. This means that even if the sound pressure level changes as it is being measured, the ISLM will not pick up these changes. When an average measurement of sound pressure levels over a period of time at frequently changing locations is required, a dosimeter is used. A dosimeter is a small portable device that can be clipped on to a collar or somewhere near the ear area. This instrument stores the average level of noise and averages the sound pressure level.

About “Ask the Expert”: The “Ask the Expert” column features questions from concerned users who wants to ask the “Hearing Loss Wiki” about hearing loss related matters. If you want to send us questions, please contact us here: contact hearing loss wiki. Disclaimer: Do not substitute medical consultations with trained medical professionals with anything you find on the internet!