Medical What causes temporary deafness after exposure to loud sounds?

[Rohan Sahuji]

What is the reason behind deafness of human ear for a short time after hearing a sound of high and constant frequency?

 

[Evo]

What is the reason behind deafness of human ear for a short time after hearing a sound of high and constant frequency?

Here is the explanation.

What is noise-induced hearing loss?

The sound pathway
Every day, we experience sound in our environment, such as the sounds from television and radio, household appliances, and traffic. Normally, we hear these sounds at safe levels that do not affect our hearing. However, when we are exposed to harmful noise—sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last a long time—sensitive structures in our inner ear can be damaged, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). These sensitive structures, called hair cells, are small sensory cells that convert sound energy into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Once damaged, our hair cells cannot grow back.

Exposure to impulse and continuous noise may cause only a temporary hearing loss. If a person regains hearing, the temporary hearing loss is called a temporary threshold shift. The temporary threshold shift largely disappears 16 to 48 hours after exposure to loud noise. You can prevent NIHL from both impulse and continuous noise by regularly using hearing protectors such as earplugs or earmuffs.

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http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noise.asp