-Minibuses and other public transportation operators among the guilty

THE playing of excessively loud music in some public and private transportation, along with the current trend by mostly teenagers of listening to music by way of ear-plugs or ear-phones, is of concern and can result in irreparable damage to the ear nerve of not only the listeners but others as well.

For some individuals, loud music may have benefits for them, particularly in terms of social integration and an enhanced sense of wellbeing and fun.

However, Head of Audiology, Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Ruth Quaicoe, is concerned over the upward trend and is therefore urging persons to take good care of the ear.
She made the plea on Monday, February 18, during the first of a two-day `hearing-aid’ fitting mission conducted by the United States-based Starkey Hearing Foundation, in collaboration with the audiology department, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Carifesta Avenue.

The exercise which concluded on February 19, saw in excess of 600 patients, who were identified by the ministry as suffering from hearing impairment, outfitted with hearing aids. A similar exercise is to be held in Lethem on Friday.
Hearing impairment, deafness, or hearing loss refer to the total or partial inability to hear sounds.

The beneficiaries were previously screened at the audiology department, either at the main unit or at satellite centres established in the various administrative regions of the country, with the exception of Region Eight where a unit is soon to be set up.
The Starkey Foundation team consists of 22 members and is headed by Kirk Richards, who is the International Development Director for the Caribbean. The main purpose of the mission is to outfit, with hearing aids, persons who cannot afford to purchase the devices which are very costly.

Each beneficiary was given two hearing aids and enough batteries to last two months. A hearing aid is a medical device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss.

Addressing the loud music issue during an invited comment, Dr. Quaicoe told the Guyana Chronicle that the ear is a very sensitive part of the human body as our normal activities require hearing. She lamented that some people take hearing for granted thus playing scant attention to it.

According to the audiology physician, with her being cognisant of the upward trend and the danger it presents, her department has begun advising drivers and conductors of minibuses of the damage, such a practice, done constantly, can do to the ear and too, the ears of travelling public.

She also cautioned that persons working in a factory with a generator installed need to protect their ears by wearing hearing protection. Mothers should, too, desist from the practice of cleaning the ears of children, she said, adding that the ear cleans itself.
Dr. Quaicoe also urged persons to avoid using the popular Q-tips that are sold in stores, to clean the ears. She pointed out that, as has occurred, persons run the risk of the cotton bud becoming detached and left in the wall of the ear and need medical intervention to have it removed.

On this note, she further advised, that persons with an ear that is itching or running, should immediately visit the audiology department for help.

“We try to tell people to take care of their ear, don’t clean it”, even as she reiterated that individuals who enjoy listening to music at high decibels and love to use earphones, should lower the sound as it can cause irreparable damage to the ear nerve.
“If you have on a headphone or an ear-plug while listening to music and the person next to you is hearing what you are listening to, it means that the volume is too loud for you”, Dr. Quaicoe added.

The standard noise levels above 110 decibels strip insulation from nerve fibers carrying signals from the ear to the brain. Loss of the protective coating, called myelin, disrupts electrical nerve signals.  Loud noises can also lead to hearing problems such as temporary hearing loss or tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and even permanent hearing loss.
Loud music played on earphones causes hearing loss by having a similar effect on nerves as multiple sclerosis, research has found.