But it’s not just music that can damage the inner ear. It could be lawn mowers, leaf blowers, broken mufflers, shop tools or firecrackers.

“From studies, we know that exposure above 85 decibels has the potential to cause permanent and irreversible hearing loss,” said Dr. Pat Welty, an audiologist at RiverPointe Hearing Center in Elkhart.

“Levels that are available through stereo systems – whether it be personal or car stereos – are much louder than that,” Welty added. “I know some car stereos can get up to 140 decibels.”

Intensity, or loudness, is measured in decibels. Conversations are usually 45 to 50 decibels, but a rock music peak might reach 150 decibels.

Sounds louder than 80 decibels are considered potentially dangerous. Hair cells of the inner ear and the hearing nerve can be damaged by an intense brief impulse, such as an explosion, or by repeated exposure to noise.

“The only area of health in the U.S. that is getting worse is that of hearing,” said Bradley Vite, an Elkhart resident and anti-noise activist. “It has to do with the environmental noise we live with on a daily basis.

“(Some) hearing loss is preventable, but once it occurs, it’s permanent.”

Over time, Vite said, America learned that wearing seat belts saves lives and that people die from secondhand smoke. He hopes it doesn’t take the country as long to educate people about the danger of noise.

More than 30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous sound levels on a regular basis, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Of the 28 million Americans who have hearing loss, more than one-third have been affected by noise, at least in part. Hearing loss also can be caused by a genetic factor, disease, condition or injury.

“We’re starting to see hearing loss in young adults that we expect to diagnose in middle-aged adults,” said Robert Novak, director of clinical education in audiology at Purdue University. “The damage can be temporary or permanent.” It also can be intermittent, like a ringing in the ears called tinnitus.

Research also shows noise can affect other parts of the body. It can increase blood pressure and breathing rates, change the way the heart beats, disturb digestion, negatively impact a developing fetus and make it difficult to sleep.

The best protection from noise – and potential hearing loss – is prevention, audiologists say. Eliminate unwanted noise when you can. When you can’t, keep it as low as possible or wear hearing protectors, such as ear muffs or ear plugs. Swimmer’s plugs and cotton in your ears don’t work.

At concerts, discos or auditoriums, don’t sit next to the speakers. And turn down the volume. If a friend can hear the music from your headset when standing three feet away, the volume is too high.

Welty believes regulations by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are improving many conditions.

Elkhart and Goshen have noise ordinances, allowing police officers to issue tickets for loud music coming from vehicles or neighborhoods.

Excessive noise was the No. 1 complaint from Elkhart citizens in Mayor Dave Miller’s first term, largely as a quality of life issue. In response, the police department averaged 503 tickets a year from 2002 to 2004 for loud noise after only two in 2001.

By Rick Meyer