Nowadays, people frequently use hearing aids while they carry out their daily activities, be it while walking down the streets, mobilizing in public transport, while doing sports or even in their workplaces. All this generates premature hearing damage that becomes evident over the years. On this occasion, Dr. Francisco Salaverry, otolaryngologist at Clinica Ricardo Palma, gives us more information about the damage that the use of hearing aids can cause.

What can cause hearing loss?

There are several factors that can contribute to hearing loss, such as:

• Diseases or inflammatory processes of the middle ear
• Age
• Excess wax
• Chronic exposure to loud noise

What problems can the use of hearing aids cause?

The use of headphones for a period of 8 hours and with a volume above 85 decibels can cause serious hearing problems, causing the person to suffer acoustic trauma (a condition that causes damage to the inner ear).

What type of hearing aids are the most suitable?

The most recommended hearing aids to avoid possible acoustic traumas are the helmet types, which protect the entire auricular pavilion, so that sound or noise does not enter directly into the tympanic membrane, preventing the middle ear from working more, producing hearing fatigue.

How can we prevent hearing problems or loss?

As part of adequate prevention, the following measures can be adopted:

• Avoid exposure to loud noise
• Do not use the headphones for a long time
• Daily noise exposure should not exceed 65 decibels
• Avoid using headphones in very noisy environments, since the volume tends to be increased in order to listen
• Rest for at least 15 minutes without hearing aids for every 45 minutes they are in use
• Go to the specialist when you feel pain in the ear or have decreased hearing, to make an early diagnosis of hearing loss
• From the age of 50 or 60, a hearing check-up should be done. This can be done with a simple audiometry test to find out how the patient is hearing.

Dr. Francisco Salaverry
Otolaryngologist at Clinica Ricardo Palma