What effect can very loud music have on your hearing? 1/3

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One of the things we don't think about when we turn on our music is how it really affects our ears and hearing. We know that if we turn it up too high, it might damage our hearing, but how much? What is really going on in our ear when we hear a sound, and how bad can our hearing get if we turn up the music more and more? If you want to experience what it's like to lose your hearing, check out this hearing simulator to see what different situations and severity of hearing loss are like. 

We may really enjoy listening to the radio as loudly as it can go. Turning up the TV volume when your little siblings start yelling. Putting on the headphones to drown out any background noise while you do your homework. Little do you know how badly loud noises and music can be for your ears. If you've ever experienced ringing in your ears, it might be because you've been exposed to too many loud noises. Your ears have tiny little cells in them - hair cells - that move around when a vibration of a sound comes into your ear. The nerve cells they release tell your brain that you're hearing a sound, and you can hear. When you hear a really loud noise, the tips of your hair cells can actually break off. Sometimes, they can come back in a few days, but sometimes, they can become permanently damaged. 

When sound waves enter your outer ear, they travel into your ear canal to the middle ear. There, they are turned into vibrations that go into the inner ear. The eardrum separates the inner and middle ear and is attached to the hammer, anvil and stirrup, the three smallest and most delicate bones in the body. The sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, which moves the bones. The bones assists with moving the sound into the inner ear. The sound then enters the cochlea, which is filled with liquid that waves around when the bones vibrate. The cochlea holds your hair cells, which look like hairs but aren't. The cells move when the vibrations come, and then the nerve signals tells the brain that you're hearing a sound. The brain puts it all together in the end, and you can hear. 

Loud music can really impact your life. Hearing loss is a really important issue, and when we are exposed to loud music and sounds, we have a higher chance of losing our hearing. As you can tell from the simulator, cases can extend from normal hearing to severe hearing loss. If you want your hair cells to break apart and your eardrums to tear, go on blasting your beats. Otherwise, lowering the volume may be a smart idea. 

To check out more of this topic:

See this video on hearing loss and why your ears ring

Check out this hearing simulator to see what it's like in different circumstances.