When you were a kid you probably had no clue that turning up the volume on your music could result in health issues. You simply enjoyed the music.
As you grew, you may have indulged in evenings out at loud concerts or the movies. It might even be normal for you to have experienced loud noise at work. Still, you didn’t think it had any long-term impact.
You more likely know differently today. Children as young as 12 can have lasting noise-induced hearing loss. But sound is so powerful it can actually be used as a weapon.
Can You Get Sick From Sound?
Actually, it Can. Particular sounds can evidently cause you to get ill according to scientists and doctors. This is why.
How Health is Impacted by Loud Noise
Really loud sounds harm the inner ear. You have tiny hairs that detect +
vibrations after they pass through the eardrum membrane. These hairs never grow back once they are damaged. This is what causes the sensorineural hearing loss that many people deal with as they age.
Damaging volume begins at 85 decibels over an 8 hour time period. If you’re exposed to over 100 dB, permanent impairment happens within 15 minutes. A rock concert is about 120 decibels, which brings about immediate, irreversible harm.
Noises can also impact cardiovascular wellness. Exposure to loud noise can increase stress hormones, which can result in clogged arteries, obesity, high blood pressure, and more. So when individuals who are subjected to loud noise complain about memory loss and headaches, this could explain why. Cardiovascular health is directly related to these symptoms.
In fact, one study confirmed that sound volumes that begin to affect the heart, and hormones are as low a 45 decibels. That’s around the volume of someone with a quiet indoor voice.
Your Health is Impacted by Certain Sound Frequencies – This is How
Cuban diplomats got sick after being exposed to certain sounds several years ago. This sound wasn’t at a really high volume. It could even be drowned out by a television. So how could this kind of sound make people sick?
Frequency is the answer.
Even at lower volumes, appreciable harm can be done by certain high-frequency sound.
Have you ever cringed when somebody scratched their nails on a chalkboard? Have you ever begged a co-worker to stop as they press their fingers across a folded piece of paper? Have you ever had to cover your ears during a violin recital?
If you’ve felt the force of high-frequency sounds, the pain you felt was actually damage happening to your hearing. The damage may have become irreversible if you’ve exposed yourself to this sort of sound repeatedly for longer time periods.
Studies have also revealed that damage can be done even if you can’t hear the sound. Harmful frequencies can come from many common devices like sensors, trains, machinery, etc.
Your health can also be impacted by infrasound which is really low frequency sound. It can vibrate the body in such a way that the person feels nauseated and disoriented. Some individuals even get migraine symptoms like flashes of color and light.
Safeguarding Your Hearing
Be aware of how you feel about specific sounds. Limit your exposure if particular sounds make you feel pain or other symptoms. If you’re experiencing pain in your ears, you’re probably doing damage.
In order to understand how your hearing might be changing over time, get in touch with a hearing specialist for a hearing test.