Disco deafness after a night out is often seen as a temporary thing and fortunately that is usually the case. Hearing improves again, sometimes the next day and sometimes a few days later. The annoying beep also disappears again. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and it is often not clear why the damage is not repaired. How harmful is going to a disco and when does disco deafness cause permanent damage?

How loud is the music and what is the effect?

When the human ear is exposed to a sound of around 115 dB for twenty minutes, temporary hearing loss occurs. The audiogram (hearing test) shows a clear dip that slowly recovers. After about four days the audiogram will show normal hearing again. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone. For unexplained reasons, a single exposure to prolonged loud noise can sometimes cause permanent hearing damage or a continuous ringing in the ear.In a discotheque the music is at a volume of 100 dB and higher. From 120 dB the sound becomes painful. Long-term exposure to noise above 80 dB will damage the cilia in the cochlea in the ear. These cilia are necessary to transport sound. Even when visiting a discotheque, an audiogram shows hearing damage the day after the visit. Here too, the damage is usually no longer measurable after about four or five days. When you visit the disco again, damage will occur again. Over time, hearing will take longer and longer to recover and recovery will gradually become less and less complete. In other words, after a few years your audiogram will already show poorer hearing, but the loss will probably not be noticeable to you. Hearing loss only becomes noticeable when it becomes bothersome. You miss parts of a conversation and you have to make more and more effort to understand someone in a noisy environment. Noise deafness means that the higher tones from 1000 Hertz are perceived less. In practice, this means that it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between consonants in a conversation.

Hearing loss is no longer just for the elderly

Over the course of your life, your hearing will deteriorate slightly, but the number of young people with premature hearing loss is increasing. In the Netherlands, there are currently approximately half a million people (under thirty years of age) who suffer from permanent hearing damage. This is 15% of young people. The cause of this can often be found in discotheque visits, motorcycle riding and MP3 players or mobile phones on which music is listened to with headphones at too high a volume. Some phones give a warning when the music volume reaches the danger zone. If you are sensible, you will also listen to this and in that case turn the music down.

Prevent or limit hearing damage

Of course, everyone just wants to be able to go out and have a social life. There is nothing against that either. You could wear earplugs when going out to protect your hearing. Another option is to regularly walk outside or to the chillout area. Just out of the noise. This will limit the damage somewhat. In any case, stay as far away from the speakers in the disco as possible. Don’t think it won’t happen to you. The trend is clear: hearing damage at a young age is becoming increasingly common. The percentage is constantly increasing. Most professional positions have a major social aspect. If you have permanent hearing damage, this means that you will not be able to practice those professions later. Hearing damage has major consequences for your future prospects.

Ringing in the ears

If you hear a ringing in the ears after a visit to the disco, this is certainly a sign that hearing damage has occurred. This beep usually disappears the next morning. There is a chance that the beep will eventually be permanently present. The ringing in the ears is called tinnitus and is caused by damaged cilia cells. The ciliated cells that caused the beep have almost certainly died when the beep disappears. And dead ciliated cells do not grow back. People who have to live day in and day out with annoying noises in their ears clearly indicate that this affects their quality of life. Some even develop psychological complaints as a result of this in the long run.So think, be careful with your hearing!