If it sounds like the world just gets more and more noisy, it's true. Studies show there's more noise pollution than ever before. The MRC Institute of Hearing Research in Britain says many of us are exposed to damaging sound levels every day in the workplace, on the street and at home. But British audiologist Angela King says that some noise pollution is self-induced. Luckily, there are ways we can help protect our hearing.
King notes that the main culprits are portable audio devices -- such as iPods -- which are all too easy to misuse. The main problem, she says, is that people often listen to them in noisy areas such as city streets, buses or subways. Because the outside noise is often still audible through the headphones, the volume gets cranked up, and the ears endure varying degrees of assault.
Listening to your favorite music may be a pleasure, says King, but "don't listen to your personal stereo for long periods of time or with the volume turned up too high." If you stop listening to your stereo or leave a nightclub or a movie and your ears are ringing, this is a sign that "you have exposed yourself to dangerous noise levels."
