The Sounds That Steal Silence: Preventable Hearing Loss Explained

How Does Noise Exposure Affect Hearing Over Time?

Your ears remember every loud moment, even when you don’t. We sit down with Dr. Jill Copley to unpack how everyday noise—concerts, stadiums, power tools, and sudden blasts—silently chips away at hearing and why prevention is the most powerful tool you have. From OSHA’s adult exposure limits to the lower safe levels for children, we sort out what the numbers really mean and why some people experience damage even at so-called safe volumes.

Together, we map the physical story inside the ear: hair cells pushed beyond their bending point, synapses fraying under metabolic stress, and subtle changes that standard tests can miss. Tinnitus takes center stage as an early warning sign—often showing up after a lively night out or a loud workday—long before clarity fades in conversation. You’ll hear how teens are already showing mild shifts at certain frequencies due to loud music and high-energy venues, and why impulse sounds like gunshots and fireworks can cause harm in a single instant.

Most importantly, we get practical. Learn how to turn risky environments into safer ones with foam plugs, musician filters, and over-ear muffs; how distance and time can slash exposure; and why building the simple habit of carrying earplugs can protect decades of hearing. Whether you work around machinery, love live shows, or just want sharper listening in noisy rooms, this guide gives you the know-how to reduce risk without giving up the sounds you love.

If you found value here, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves concerts, and leave a quick review to help others protect their hearing. Got a question or a story about noise and your ears? Send it our way—we’d love to hear it.

To learn more about Total Hearing Care visit:
https://www.TotalHearingCare.com

Total Hearing Care
Multiple Locations Across the DFW Metroplex
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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to the Total Hearing Care Difference, where
we help you experience lifethrough better hearing.
Hosted by the Experts of TotalHearing Care, a leading private
audiology practice serving theDFW Metroplex, we're here to
provide guidance on hearingloss, tinnitus, and the latest
advancements in audiology.
Transform your life throughbetter hearing.

(00:23):
Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 (00:28):
Welcome back, everyone.
I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host andproducer back in the studio
today with Dr.
Joe Copley.
Dr.
Copley, how's it going today?

SPEAKER_02 (00:38):
Oh, I'm I'm doing well.
I'm excited to be here and talkabout these interesting uh
things you have lined up.

SPEAKER_01 (00:45):
I know.
I'm so excited to be sittingwith you again.
Now, Dr.
Copley, let's kick things offwith a big one.
How does the noise exposureaffect hearing over time?

SPEAKER_02 (00:58):
So that's a that is a huge question and a very
important one.
When we look at hearing loss,the one type of loss that we can
actually prevent isnoise-related loss, meaning that
means you're not around noise.
So the people that are mostexposed to noise as far as being

(01:18):
in a career or industrial kindof career tend to be miners, um,
construction workers, and inmanufacturing.
And then others that you mightthink of that are around loud
noise, like being in themilitary or police officers or

(01:39):
people who are uh firepersonnel, as well as some
things you might not thinkabout, like dentists that are
around loud drills.
And what happens is you arerepeatedly exposed to this
noise.
And if it's loud enough, it willactually start to harm your
hearing.
And what it does first is itharms the nerve cells.

(02:02):
You may not even notice thatyou're having any hearing loss,
but there's still damage to thesystem.
And some of the first signs arethat you might have ringing in
your ears that comes and goesand then continues for a while.
And then you might notice thatyou're having more trouble
understanding, especially inbackground noise.

(02:23):
And then you will probably startto notice that there's an actual
hearing loss.
So it's kind of it can begradual in those kinds of
situations, or it can be um ifthere's a very sudden loud
noise, such as I mentionedpolice officers, if they um
shoot their their gun or youshoot your hunting and you shoot

(02:44):
um a rifle or something, thatcan be a very sudden sound and
can harm your hearing just rightaway where you actually notice
that something's wrong.

SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Wow.
Now, can short bursts of loudsound be just as damaging as
prolonged exposure?

SPEAKER_02 (03:01):
Sometimes they can actually be more harmful.
Um when we look at OSHA, um,OSHA is who has determined the
safe levels of noise.
And I'd like to mention thatsafe levels of noise for adults
is different than safe levels ofnoise for children.

(03:23):
Okay, so if I say um just anumber 85 decibels at um eight
hours of consistent noise issupposedly safe for an adult,
that is actually going to beharmful for a child.
So I just like our viewers toknow there is a difference
there.
So most of what we'll talk aboutis adults.

(03:46):
And so um you can have constantnoise like that.
Now, 85 is considered safe,although some people do get
hearing loss from that.
And so that's just kind of ourour maximum.
Um, so we really would like itlower than that if we can get
it.
But then you have sounds thatare sudden bursts of sound, as I

(04:09):
mentioned, like shotgun blasts.
Um, but you also have thingslike fireworks and you could
also have sound like if you'vebeen at a concert and they have
a loud sound indoors, those cango up to 120 decibels or louder,
and those you may you may getdamaged within a second because

(04:30):
of it being so loud.
So it can be very damaging veryquickly, depending on how close
you are to that impact of thatsound.

SPEAKER_01 (04:40):
Oh wow.
Now, how does the ear physicallyrespond to repeated noise
exposure?

SPEAKER_02 (04:47):
So that's a great question.
Um, because you don't start outnecessarily with the hearing
loss, except when I mentionedthose loud sounds.
So you have nerve cells, youhave membranes in the ear, and
what happens is you start todamage those.
And with repeated noise over andover and over again, it's going

(05:07):
to keep I think of it asknocking down.
So you have nerve cells that aresticking up straight, and every
time a noise comes through, it'sa sound wave and it's a physical
wave, and it can change and movethose nerve cells.
If it's loud enough, it justkeeps knocking them down over
and over and over.
And there's a point at whichthey just can't respond back to

(05:31):
normal again.
And so you have that happen,that physical change.
But you can also have um proteinchanges, enzyme changes within
the fluids in the ear.
And then um you can also havejust changes to the nerve
itself.
And like I said, a lot of thosethings can cause ringing or

(05:51):
tennis.
And so um noise exposure, youoften have tannus and hearing
loss together.
Um, and tinnitus may be thefirst thing you notice.

SPEAKER_01 (06:02):
Wow.
Now, other than tetus, are thereany other early warning signs
people should watch for?

SPEAKER_02 (06:10):
I actually think that's the the main one.
Um for instance, let's say, haveyou ever been to a concert and
not worn earplugs or ever beento a loud uh bar or restaurant
without earplugs?
You know, those are very, verynoisy, and you may come out of
there kind of feeling like, oh,there's some ringing in my ears,

(06:31):
or maybe even like a littlefoggy or a little um not so much
lightheaded, but maybe a littleoff balance, like, wow, that my
brain didn't really like that.
And that's usually a sign thatsomething has occurred.
Now, whether that is completedamage or not, we don't really
know for sure yet.
But those are the kinds ofthings that you might notice

(06:54):
coming out of a loud situation.
Can you recover from that typeof damage in your ears?
Well, as I mentioned, sometimesyou can.
Um, those nerve cells willbounce back, but it's at a
certain point you're going tohave hearing loss.
And and uh one of the things Iread in preparation for this is
that that hearing loss happensvery early on.

(07:18):
So we test within a certainrange of hearing, but there are
other ranges of hearing that ourequipment just doesn't test.
And um, when you look atresearch at universities or
places that have this extraequipment, they can see changes
almost right away in both humansand of course animal models.

(07:39):
That's usually where they startto look for these things.
And so they can see it rightaway.
And one of the things that um Iread that was very interesting
is teenagers that may listen toloud music or be around loud
restaurants or football games orthings like that, um, about up
to 20 to 30 percent of them arealready showing very mild

(08:03):
hearing loss at certainfrequencies, um, even people as
young as that.
So the system has a hard timebouncing back.
You may think it's bouncingback, but underneath there
actually may be damage there.

SPEAKER_01 (08:16):
Wow.
Do you have any final words ofwisdom for us today, Dr.
Copley, on this subject?

SPEAKER_02 (08:23):
I think the words of wisdom are if you're going to be
in a loud environment, wearhearing protection.
Um, there are some roles whereyou're required to wear hearing
protection, like the military.
Military was one of the first umcareer paths that they really
decided, hey, we need to haveour people wear hearing
protection.
There's lots of different typesof hearing protection, which

(08:45):
we'll probably go over inanother podcast.
Um, but even if you go to aconcert, if something seems too
loud and you seem to feel it inyour head or in your ears, you
probably need to be wearinghearing protection.

SPEAKER_01 (08:59):
Wow, Dr.
Copley, well, thank you so muchfor shedding light on such an
important topic for us today.
We'll see you next time for moreexpertise and insights on
hearing care.
Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 (09:12):
I appreciate us talking about this important
topic too.

SPEAKER_00 (09:16):
Thank you for listening to the Total Hearing
Care Difference.
If you're in the DFW Metroplexand ready to take the next step
toward better hearing, call 469809 4487 to book an appointment.
Or visit totalhearingcare dotcom because when you hear
better, you live better.

(09:36):
See you next time.