Reference no: EM133947428

Problem

How Loud is Too Loud? How Long is Too Long? National Institutes of Health Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) occurs when tiny sensory hair cells in our inner ears are damaged by noises that are too loud and that last for too long. But how loud is too loud, and how much time is too long? The answers are related: the louder the sound, the shorter the time before damage can occur. 5 How is sound measured? Sound is measured in units called decibels. Decibel levels begin at zero, which is near total silence and the weakest sound our ears can hear. By comparison, a whisper is 30 decibels and a normal conversation is 60 decibels. An increase of 10 means that a sound is 10 times more intense, or powerful. To your ears, it 10 sounds twice as loud. The sound of an ambulance siren at 120 decibels is about 1 trillion times more intense than the weakest sound our ears can hear. Get the instant assignment help. Sounds that reach 120 decibels are painful to our ears at close distances. Scientists believe that, depending upon the type of sound, the 15 pure force of its vibrations at high decibel levels can cause hearing loss. Recent studies also show that exposure to sounds at harmful decibel levels triggers the formation of molecules inside the ear that damage hair cells. These destructive molecules play an important role in hearing loss in children and 20 adults who listen to loud noise for too long. How does time multiply the danger of NIHL?