Experts warn against excessive exposure to noise

AIISH observes International Noise Awareness Day by holding a walkathon

The International Noise Awareness Day is observed on April 27 every year to sensitise people and raise awareness about the harmful effects of noise on hearing, health and quality of life.

The Department of Audiology, along with the National Service Scheme units of All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), organised a walkathon here on Wednesday to observe the day and also to spread awareness about the harmful effects of excessive noise.

L.. Nagendra, MLA, flagged off the rally at the Knowledge Park on AIISH campus here, in the presence of AIISH Director M. Pushpavathi, Prawin Kumar, HoD-Audiology, R. Rajasudhakar, NSS Officer Unit 1, Niraj Kumar Singh, NSS Officer, Unit 2, along with other department heads, teaching faculty, clinical staff and students.

A total of 150 people, including 125 NSS volunteers (UG and PG Audiology and Speech Language Pathology students), 10 junior research fellows and 15 staff took part in the walkathon.

The event was aimed at sensitising the public about harmful effects of noise on the health of an individual. Exposure to loud noise may damage the audio-vestibular system, causing hearing loss, tinnitus, giddiness, and permanent damage to the hair cells in the ear. In addition, unwanted noise exposure also causes many psychological issues in everyday life such as headache, stress, depression, anxiety etc., a note from the AIISH said.

Noise-induced hearing loss is the second most common cause of hearing loss after age-related hearing loss. Noise exposure at the workplace causes irreversible, permanent hearing loss over a period of time. Industrial workers, factory workers, heavy vehicle drivers, traffic police officers etc., are at risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss, experts from AIISH observe.

People in those professions should consider safeguarding their ears by using protective devices such as earplugs or earmuffs while working in noisy areas. One of the leading causes of hearing loss in the younger age group is the usage of earphones/earbuds for listening to music.