Doctors report a rise in complaints of hearing loss, more so among youngsters.
A couple of days ago, 28-year-old Sneha (name changed) requested her neighbour, who is a ear specialist, to check her ears, as she was having difficulty hearing for about a week. She believed that a little cleaning would resolve the issue. But when the doctor examined Sneha, he found that her inner ear was severely damaged.
“Sneha is an avid dandiya player. Constant exposure to high-decibel music has caused the problem,” said Dr Pradeep Uppal, the Thane-based ENT surgeon.
Sneha’s is not an isolated case. From information available, during the dandiya season every year, ENT specialists get such cases complaining of hearing loss in at least one of the ears. This has gotten worse recently, say anti-noise pollution activists. Noise levels touched 100 decibels (db) this time, which is close to the sound impact from firecrackers burned during Diwali.
According to the guidelines, the noise level in a residential area should not exceed 55db up to 10pm and 45db after 10pm. In silence zones (around schools and hospitals) this must not go over 50db before 10pm and 40db after 10pm.
Doctors say that persons exposed to noise levels in the range of 60-70db over a period of time could suffer hearing loss. “Sudden loud noise can cause a hole in the eardrum, which is treatable with medication and surgery. But sustained noise over a period of time can also result in sensorineural deafness, which is a gradual loss of hearing. This is the most common problem among teenagers who are Navratri revellers,” said Dr Uppal. (The ear consists of three main parts — the outer ear, the eardrum and the inner ear or cochlea.)
A frequent complaint by revellers during the nine-day celebration is a constant ringing in the ears. “Such reverberating sound is caused because of the damage to sensitive hair cells inside the ear. Often, patients don’t come to us immediately as they do not attribute hearing loss to the noise,” said Dr Hetal Marfatia-Patel, professor in the ENT department at KEM hospital.
Doctors suggest some protective steps. “Plug your ears with cotton while walking on the streets, as a sudden explosion of firecrackers can damage the ear permanently,” Dr Marfatia-Patel said. “Partial loss of hearing loss is also rampant. In other countries people also use special noise filter plugs that don’t hinder the sound, but reduce the loudness. Unfortunately, such specialized ear plugs are not available in India yet.”
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