Which Guideline to Use to Avoid Hearing Loss?

They say generally follow 85 dB for 8 hours. But that will generally result in hearing loss over a lifetime according to this study?

https://books.google.com/books?id=s...&sa=X&ei=EXwgVe21Csi_sAXHvoFA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA

@attheedgeofscience, hey can you give advice on this?

http://midimagic.sgc-hosting.com/spldose.htm

http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/10751/1/concawe0152.pdf

So if you use EPA will result in 0 hearing loss or 0% risk but NIOSH is 8%, then why don't we use EPA of 75 dB for 8 hours?

 

The noise that people are routinely exposed to in the industrial world is definitely toxic, but the alternative is living in the woods...

 

And living in the woods isn't gonna happen. They'd be able to regenerate hair cells soon...So tinnitus will be sorted as for now, we have Autifony's tinnitus reducer to look forward to! Also, wish the regenerating hair cells thing would come out sooner.

 

75 db for 8hours is safer... aim for that

 

yeah, it is the more definitive guideline when it comes to absolutely ZERO Hearing loss.

But can someone answer me why people then use the 85 db for 8 hours guideline generally everywhere. I just don't get why that is the case when studies clearly show that it will result in hearing loss over a lifetime if you use that guideline! Especially people on this forum when some new guy post a thread asking for safe noise exposure, a lot of members post 85 db for 8 hours, but then are those members clueless and never look at the background on HOW they set the guideline?

http://www.audiologyonline.com/articles/acceptable-strategies-for-prevention-noise-12205

The gist of it is here: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-126/pdfs/98-126.pdf

That document is the explanation of the origin of 85 db for 8 hours guideline. Why they recommend it and how much they aim to protect and their prediction of how much hearing loss over 40 year working lifetime. and it is not 0 decibel across all frequency!

 

The amount of carcinogens that we all get exposed to every day hurts us and increases our cancer risks, too.

The world is dangerous, our bodies are constantly falling apart, and government safety guidelines are always a compromise between safety and profitability.

 

I'm trying to prevent hearing loss having a mild hearing loss. At what decibel below is the safe level? And at what decibel above do we need to use earplugs? Also do we develop hyperacusis from overuse?

Finally, which noise guideline below do you follow ?

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Thanks a lot!

 

I am not a doctor; I am not qualified to answer medical questions.

What I can do is share my own opinions as they apply to myself (i.e. the guidelines that I live by). What others choose to do with that information is then up to themselves.

Personally, I use ear plugs whenever I leave my house (even for a short 5-minute walk). You never know when a loud noise might hit you - and the problem is that, without ear plug protection, by the time you register the noise, it might be too late (e.g. a fire-cracker). Personally, I have had that happen twice over the past six months - once with a military grade fire-cracker going off about 10 meters from me (I could feel the pressure wave in the air - that's how bad it was...). The other problem is that daily noise is relatively loud and not really good for our ears (i.e. our ears were never really designed for a modern noisy lifestyle).

The links you provided also reflect a similar line-of-thought:

I tend to agree with that assessment. I also tend to think that ears which have already suffered auditory damage may be more susceptible to further damage (and hence it could possibly be argued that the standard guidelines do not apply to people with hearing loss and that this group people should take further precautions).

About hyperacusis and ear plugs, I tend to think that the risk is overestimated and possibly not even accurate. To me, the advice of refraining from wearing ear plugs because it could lead to hyperacusis is like the laissez-faire advice we used to be told in relation to the common cold: wear warm clothing otherwise you could catch a cold! Turns out, of course, that catching a cold has nothing to do with cold weather exposure, as such, it has to do with catching a virus - which - for the most part is best avoided by regular hand washing. Where there are human beings, there also are logical fallacies, and that would unfortunately include the medical community (from time-to-time). Would I wear ear plugs at home? No, there is no need (at least not for myself). But as soon as I leave my home, I put in my ear plugs, and I do not take them out before I return.