It can cause isolation at home and socially and decrease efficiency at work. High-pitched sounds, such as consonants and women's and children's voices, are the most affected by hearing loss. Thus, while some sounds are still loud, others are filtered out and speech can't be understood. With more than one person speaking or a background noise, the problem is worse. Unfortunately, lost hearing is gone forever.
Hearing aids offer only limited help in decoding the distorted message.
Ringing or other noises in the ears or head, known technically as tinnitus, can also be caused by excessive noise. It too can become permanent in some people and when severe may disrupt sleep, reduce concentration, make you extremely irritable and lead to depression. If the noise around you makes it necessary for you to raise your voice to make yourself heard to somebody one meter away, your hearing is probably at risk. Repeated exposure to excessive noise will eventually lead to permanent damage. Don't ask him what he's thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as navel lint, the shotgun formation and monster trucks.