According to figures published by the edition of Parisian from January 28, 20% of young people today suffer from problems prefiguring early deafness. On the occasion of the 11th Sound week, organized from January 27 to February 1 in Paris, and from February 2 to 9 everywhere in France, in Brussels and in Geneva, the daily recalls some preventive measures to be observed to limit the damage and preserve good hearing.
“With headphones, the sound has never been so close to the inner ear”, explains Christian Hugonnet, president of the Semaine du son and acoustician, at Le Parisien. “It is not so much the object that is to be denounced, but its use”: we listen with headphones too loud and too long. About 11% of children surveyed in CE1 (7-8 years) admit falling asleep with headphones on and 30% of middle school students exceed 90 decibels.
Individual variability in the face of noise
After forty-five minutes of listening, always take breaks, recommend the experts cited by the daily. And consult while there is still time, at the cost of absolute rest and without a helmet as soon as these warning signs appear: buzzing, feeling of blocked ears or too strong and almost painful perception of certain noises.
On the side of National Institute of Health (Inserm), the instructions concerning noise pollution are clear: above 85 decibels, exposure for more than eight hours requires protection, beyond 90 decibels (drill), limit exposure to two hours and more. above 100 decibels (jackhammer), do not exceed 15 minutes. “There is however a great individual variability vis-a-vis the noise. Certain genes seem in particular to influence the sensitivity to the sound trauma”, adds the establishment specializing in medical research.
