Audiologist offers sound advice during National Deaf Awareness Week

This was the message given yesterday by Mr. A.V. Riza, audiologist at Dubai's Medcare Hospital, to mark Deaf Awareness Week; a week in which the sensitivity of the vital second sense is highlighted.

The specialist was on hand to explain just how harmful the effects of excessively loud music can be; encouraging the Emirates' party lovers to safeguard their hearing when out on the town.

"Dubai has grown over the years to become a hot-spot for night time entertainment and part of this growth has seen countless new clubs and live venues playing loud music late into the night," he said, speaking from his clinic at Medcare Hospital. "What some people may not realise is that they can end up with irreversible hearing loss if they over-expose themselves to an excessive volume of music at such events," he added.

Mr. Riza, who assesses hearing for patients of all ages using a sophisticated sound-proofed booth and specialist equipment at Medcare, fears that young people frequenting clubs and discos may not be aware of the potential problems until it is too late. "The difficulty I encounter when I offer advice about this issue is that damage can occur without the person being aware of it," he said.

"Very rarely is there any sensation, such as pain, that indicates that the cells in the inner ear are being affected and it doesn't take much to lead to permanent hearing loss," he added.

"Although unaware of anything untoward at the time, they may experience a ringing in the ears after they have gone home - a ringing sign which indicates that damage has been done," he added.

The audiologist, who has been employed at Medcare since it opened one year ago, explained that damage inflicted to a person's hearing occurs through a combination of both the level of noise and the length of time they are exposed to it.

"90 decibels is the maximum sound a person can tolerate over a prolonged period, which is the equivalent of a helicopter passing low overhead. This can be sustained for around eight hours before damage to the cells of the cochlear - or inner ear - occurs," he said.

"The important thing to be aware of, however, is that for every five decibel increase above this, the listening time is halved; so at 95 decibels, you can only tolerate four hours exposure and at 100 decibels; two hours. Live rock concerts often exceed this volume, particularly near the front of the stage where the band is playing; as can nightclubs, especially near the loudspeakers columns. Many such places stay open until early in the morning, meaning people can be exposed to harmful levels over a prolonged period," he added.

And it's not just the amplified bass lines from powerful speaker systems that have been identified as causing problems.

The now ubiquitous MP3 players and I-pods have also been flagged up by clinical experts such as Mr. Riz as being potentially harmful.

"Many new personal music players on the market have longer battery lives than their older Walkman counterparts and offer a much greater music catalogue, so it is now possible to listen to hours and hours of your favourite selection," he said. "Unfortunately, many of these units exceed the recommended 90 decibels at their maximum output and a lot of youngsters will have the volume turned right up to counteract external noises, so this way they can inadvertently set themselves up for hearing difficulties later on in life," he added.

Mr. Riza has some clear advice to those who want to ensure they will be able to enjoy the beauty of birdsong well into their dotage, but insists he is not trying to be a killjoy. "I'm not suggesting that Dubai's music lovers should never visit a club or listen to a personal stereo again, it's just about taking sensible precautions," he said.

"If visiting a rock concert or other venue with loud music, try and ensure you are not standing too close to the speaker towers for any length of time. With a personal hi-fi's volume set at 50 percent, you can listen to music for five hours. With the volume at 90%, you should limit the time to just 10-15 minutes only," he added.

"The most important thing to remember is that you only have one set of ears and taking these measures should help ensure that you will enjoy music well into your old age".