Turn that Racket Down!!

If I had extra money laying around, I’d buy stock in hearing aids. Car stereos that could drown out a jumbo jet and iPods would ensure that I’d double, triple, or quadruple my investment.

Maybe I’m becoming a fuddy-duddy at the ripe old age of 22, but I strongly dislike music that is played too loud. I’m constantly telling my family members, especially my 18-year-old brother, to “turn it down!” I try to be patient with my mom, she’s had something like a 40% hearing loss in one ear due to multiple ear infections she had as a young girl. And my dad is 50 now, so he’s also somewhat excused for needing things a notch or two higher.

My brother is a different story. There’s no reason that he needs to turn the car radio so loud that people can hear him coming from a mile away. And his iPod doesn’t need the volume on the earbuds to be so loud that I can hear the music perfectly while sitting across the room from him.

It’s not just my brother either. It’s the vast majority of our nation’s youth. Pumped up MP3 players and car stereos are everywhere. I just don’t understand how people can physically stand listening to music that loud. Its like some kind of weird mental torture to have to sit and listen to the music that loud. It leaves me in a numbed state in which I crave complete silence and have terrible tinnitus.

Loud music seems to lead to loud everything. Because he’s always barraging himself with his cranked up iPod, little bro also has a tendency to turn up the tv louder than necessary. His cell phone is turned up past my comfort level, his alarm clock jars me awake even with his door closed, and the subwoofer on his video games is enough to shake the walls.

I worry about his hearing. Hearing loss runs in the family, my maternal grandfather has been wearing hearing aids as long as I can remember, almost 20 years, and he’s only 71. And my paternal grandfather has been needing them for almost as long. So I’m constantly nagging my brother to lower the volume on his stereo, iPod, tv, etc.

And I should be worried. Hearing loss can be caused by so many things, for example, earwax build-up, infections that shut the ear canal, foreign objects, injuries, birth defects, tumors, ear infections, fluid in the ear, otosclerosis, presbycusis, fistula (an abnormal connection between the inner and outer ear), Meniere’s syndrome, and neural problems. With all these other possible causes of hearing loss, why take the risk with loud music too?

This is not to say that I don’t enjoy a good rock concert or that I don’t occasionally turn up the radio to sing along at the top of my lungs. I just do these things in moderation. I barely listen to my mp3 player with the volume at more than 3, when it has the capability to go up to 25. My car stereo goes up to 40, but I keep it at a reasonable 8 (12 if I’m going 70 on the Thruway with all the windows open). And the tv goes up to 60, but I like it at 10 or less.

I really value my hearing. And my ears are very sensitive, probably due in part to the fact that I’m a classically trained musician. So I don’t want long periods of exposure to loud noises. I’m trying to protect my hearing, and delay the onset of hearing loss that comes with getting older. I like the fact that I can tell the difference between the school bus and the garbage truck outside my window without looking. I like being able to hear my cat purring when she’s sitting on my lap. I love the sound of rain on the gutters, the wind rustling leaves on the trees, my dad gently snoring at night, my mom’s high heels on the tile floor, my brother’s low voice rumbling through the wall when he’s on the phone at night. I love being able to hear complex things, like the difference between a violin and viola or tuning the perfect 5th when I’m with my sax quartet.

Take these facts into account:
Hearing loss normally occurs gradually and almost half of hearing loss sufferers are less than 55-years-old. People are living longer, the average life expectancy in America is close to 78 years old. This means that if someone were to begin wearing a hearing at 55, they would need a hearing aid for at least 23 years. Even when kept clean and in good condition, hearing aids only last 5 to 7 years. Do a little math and you’ll see that someone would need at least 3 hearing aids over the course of their lifetime. A low end pair of hearing aids can cost upwards of $1000, not including the cost of replacement batteries for those 5 to 7 years. So the average person who begins wearing hearing aids at age 55 would spend upwards of $3000 on hearing aids.

Now that my friends, sounds like money in the bank.

Sources:
BHI: Hearing Solutions
ehealthMD: What Causes Hearing Loss?
Hearing Aid World: How Long Do Hearing Aids Last?
Medical News Today: Life Expectancy in USA Increases to 77.6 Years
Healthy Hearing: How Much Do Hearing Aids Cost?
WebMD: Ringing in the Ears (Tinnitus)