We are losing our hearing earlier than thought

Hear that?Probably not, since at least one in five adults have some level of hearing loss, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The report, which analyzed data taken from a survey distributed to 20-to-69-year-olds...

We are losing our hearing earlier than thought

Hear that?

Probably not, since at least one in five adults have some level of hearing loss, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report, which analyzed data taken from a survey distributed to 20-to-69-year-olds between 2011 and 2012, found that not only are people losing their hearing, but most of us don’t even realize it.

Researchers reported that approximately 24 percent of the people surveyed had hearing loss, despite most of the participants claiming they had good, or excellent hearing.

More importantly, researchers discovered that 53 percent of participants said they weren’t exposed to loud noise at work—which is what the CDC has focused on in the past. This means that merely being a human in the modern world is causing a quarter of us to suffer hearing loss.

“Even being stuck in traffic with horns blowing and sirens blaring can put hearing at risk,” acting CDC director Dr. Anne Schuchat said in a statement. “People may not realize that these kinds of exposure can cause permanent damage.”

Hearing damage is permanent and can lead to tinnitus, which is a ringing in the ear — and the stress of having that can cause anxiety and high blood pressure.

Other non-work factors the CDC cited were lawnmowers, woodworking saws, leaf blowers and other similar machinery. Schuchat said they couldn’t confirm if earbuds or headphones were definitely a factor, but advised that people keep the volume low anyway. And maybe scale back the yard work.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.

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