How to protect your hearing

All sounds that are louder than 85 decibels(分贝) — from industrial machines to heavy traffic and loud music — are a threat to your hearing, especially if your exposure is long or repeated. That’s because loud sounds can injure or destroy hair cells in your inner ear that are involved in sending sound signals to your brain.

【小题1】 . Since most of us don’t carry decibel meters around, you can rely instead on this rule of thumb: if you are required to raise your voice to be heard by someone standing an arm’s length away then there’s potential for harm. Ideally, you can reduce the noise, go to a quieter environment or wear protection such as earplugs.

【小题2】 . Many smartphones can produce sounds of 100 decibels or more. Some will warn you when you exceed safe levels. If yours doesn’t, keep it set to less than the maximum volume.

Deafeningly loud noise is not to blame for all hearing loss, though. 【小题3】. In addition, the inner ear can also become worse as you get older, and unfortunately, there’s no real way to prevent this.

If you suspect you’ve lost some hearing, see a GP or audiologist. 【小题4】, particularly when it’s a question of picking up people’s speech.

The technology itself “can take a while to get used to because your brain needs to readjust,” says audiologist Dr. Gemma Twitchen. “【小题5】 , when you first notice it reducing.” Hearing aids are improving in terms of comfort, sound quality and appearance — there are now tiny, barely noticeable models available.