Exposure to noise is based on the amount a person receives during a typical day. The table below is a rough guide to some fairly typical noise levels. Headphones for radios and tape recorders do not provide good protection from noise. Turning up the workshop radio to drown the noise doesn't protect your hearing, it just increases the damage. Lost hearing is gone forever.
Hearing aids are of limited help.
No transplant operations can fix a hearing loss. Why Noise is a Problem Noise can cause permanent hearing loss. Sound stimulates tiny hair-like cells in the inner ear which send messages to the brain. These cells are damaged by too much noise for too long. The damaged cells can no longer send messages to the brain and hearing is lost.