World Hearing Day 2025: Avoid prolonged use of earphones to keep hearing loss at bay, warn docs

Patna: Prolonged use of earphones or talking for longer duration over phone should be avoided for good ossicular health, suggest ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialists, with World Hearing Day being observed on March 3.
Being marked since 2015, the World Hearing day was planned as a campaign by the World Health Organisation to spread awareness about maintenance of ear health and care so as to prevent hearing loss in any stage of life.
With this year's theme, ‘Empower Yourself', aiming at promoting actions towards improved hearing, city-based ENT specialists also suggest avoiding exposure to prolonged sound pollution and ear trauma caused by carelessness. Doctors say that sound of 60-65 decibel is okay for ears, but that beyond 70 decibel should be avoided. A noise level of 145 decibel can cause immediate hearing loss, warns head of ENT at IGIMS-Patna, Dr Rakesh Kumar Singh.
Head of ENT department at AIIMS-Patna, Dr Kranti Bhavana, says that noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has become a sort of an epidemic these days. "The prolonged usage of earphones and that too at very high noise levels tire the ears, slowly losing the capacity of their nerves, leading to NIHL and tinnitus (a situation when patients feel like listening to constant whistling sound). These indicate that the nerves are getting weaker," said Bhavana, adding NIHL was earlier observed mainly in people living close to factories, airports or railway stations, but is now a common feature due to overuse of earphones and such other digital equipment at higher sound levels for longer durations.
She further says lengthier conversations or use of earphones in one go should be strictly avoided.
She also advises not to clean ears by oneself with ear buds, oil or any other material. "People should not try to take out wax, as little bit of it is good for ears," says Dr Bhavana.
She further stresses the importance of hearing screening among newborns, which is vital to catch congenital hearing loss as the problem could be corrected using appropriate methods on time.
Head of ENT at IGIMS-Patna, Dr Singh, says that there are a few main ear health regimen, if followed strictly, can ensure good and problem-free hearing throughout life. "Besides avoiding prolonged exposure to sound pollution, people also need to keep ear trauma at bay that may be caused by slapping on or around the ear, leading to eardrum rupture and ossicular disruption causing hearing loss," says Singh, adding that upper respiratory tract infection, including sinuses or nose or throat infections, should also be taken care of, as they may have negative repercussions on ears as well.