Stephanie B. McVicar, Audiology Supervisor, U of U Health System: "What happens is that damage is permanent. And once it's gone, we can't get it back. And so it's very important that people protect their hearing in any aspect of loud noise, including music."

Protection can be pretty simple.

Stephanie B. McVicar: "It could be something as simple as little foam earplugs you can get for a couple of dollars at a drug store. Or, in high industrial noise, some of them are also required to wear earmuffs."

How do we know when we need protection?

Stephanie B. McVicar: "If you ever, ever experience ringing in your ears after a concert or using a saw or something like that, that's a sign that, that sound was way too loud and you should be protecting your ears."

There's a simple rule of thumb that McVicar uses with kids.

Stephanie B. McVicar: "What I always explain to a parent is that if your child is wearing a walkman and you can hear the sound through the walkman, it's too loud."

Because hearing loss typically sneaks up on us gradually, it's recommended that we all get a baseline hearing test, especially after we turn 50. And don't forget, audiologists unanimously urge us all to protect our hearing by using earplugs because when it's gone, it's really gone.

By Shelley Osterloh, KSL TV