Hearing Loss Prevention

For the most part, hearing loss is not preventable. Hearing loss caused by aging (the leading cause), disease, genetics, injury or biology cannot be prevented. However, noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) — the second leading cause of hearing loss — is preventable.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to sounds 85 decibels (dB) and above can damage your hearing. The louder or higher decibel the sound is, the less exposure time is required for hearing loss to occur.

While there is little you can do to prevent most causes of hearing loss, you can prevent noise-induced hearing loss (the second most common cause) by following good hearing protection practices.