The research suggests that today’s ten to 15-year-olds will start to lose their hearing 30 years sooner than their parents, and that the use of personal stereos makes them much more prone to tinnitus – a constant ringing in the ears, with different levels of severity.

The whistling experienced by tinnitus suffers can range from a light hissing to a noise as loud as the roar of a jet.

With the increasing number of young people reported to be developing tinnitus, it is sometimes referred to as "the club disease" as many people experience tinnitus or "ringing ears" after attending loud clubs or concerts.

"I went to an extremely loud gig and stood right by the speakers,” says Mark Anderson, a tinnitus suffer. “Immediately afterwards I went deaf in one ear for 12 hours. I was terrified." Mark’s hearing did return, but the ringing in his ears never went away.

Audiologists warn that Tinnitus can cause loss of sleep, depression, stress and in a few cases, lead to suicide. Tinnitus can also develop into hyperacusis - a severe sensitivity to noise.

Sufferers have an almost phobic aversion to volume, with a range of sensitivity that can lead them to become irritated by something as mundane as a cup being placed on a saucer.

Pete Townsend, The Who’s guitarist, has suffered irreparable hearing loss and he says it is a result of noise damage.

The Who, were known as one of the loudest rock bands and the noise level at their concerts often reached 120 decibels – the maximum allowed by EU safety standards, but almost as loud as a pneumatic drill is 110 decibels.

Townsend was also renowned for frequently smashing up his electric guitar on stage, causing further ear-piercing sounds.

But nowadays, Townsend campaigns to lower noise pollution – because he says the excessive volume at the band’s concerts and years spent listening to loud music through headphones in recording studios ruined his hearing.

He argues that those with MP3 players, such as the iPod could be damaging their hearing.

Once upon a time personal stereo’s ran for around 30 minutes until the tape ran out or you had to change the cassette over, so people took a break from ear phones. But now with MP3 players, listeners can listen to up to 12 hours of un-interrupted music.

The iPod is capable of producing sound in excess of 115 decibels. It recently had to launch a ‘volume control’ software update for the iPod, in response to the threat of legal action against them by people who claim the gadget ruined their hearing.

But warnings tend to fall on deaf ears. Young people in general don’t want to know about the potential dangers. They love their music and as for complaining about noise levels in a club – that would not be considered a cool thing to do.

“It is a known fact that loud noise can effect hearing,” says Jaideep Bhalla, ear, nose and throat specialist with the Emirates Diagnostic Clinic.

“I worry about the easy availability of machines like MP3 Players, because users are not aware that prolonged use at high decibels is detrimental to hearing. People really need to be aware of these dangers.”

* PROTECT YOUR HEARING

>> Turn down the volume at least one notch on your personal stereo — you should still be able to hear conversation and background noise while wearing it.

>> Limit your iPod/MP3 player use to one hour a day and have regular breaks during that time to give your ears a rest.

>> Reduce the volume of incoming calls on your mobile phone, and turn down the ringer volume to protect the ears of those around you — a ringing mobile phone can reach 80dB, the level at which noise is officially defined as “loud”.

>> Wear earplugs in noisy environments – such as using power DIY tools, at football matches or in traffic.

>> If you are worried about your hearing, visit your doctor for a check up.

Source: http://www.7days.ae/2006/04/14/modern-lifestyles-are-killer-to-the-ears.html