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Occupational deafness is a type of sensorineural hearing loss. It is caused by prolonged exposure to high level of noise at work. The noise passes through the outer ear, ear canal and ear drum and enters into the middle and inner ears. The noise damages the auditory cells of the inner ear. Once destroyed, these auditory cells would not recover. The resulting hearing impairment will be permanent, leading to hearing loss. When a person works in a noisy environment, the damage caused to his hearing will be in direct proportion to the intensity of the noise and the duration of exposure time. |
During prolonged exposure to noise at work, the noise passes through the earlap, ear canal and ear drum of the outer ear and enters into the middle and inner ears.
The nerve cells of the inner ear will be gradually damaged by the noise.
Occupational deafness cannot be cured. Prevention is the only way to avoid contracting the disease.
The following are some symptoms of occupational deafness:
- Encountering difficulty in communicating with others in person or over the phone
- Feeling the need to raise the volume of radio and television
- Feeling hard to concentrate
- Experiencing insomnia
- Having tinnitus: a constant or intermittent "buzzing" sound in the ear, causing annoyance.
