Proper training, protection help prevent hearing loss

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Brad Sprague
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNEWS) --  Hearing loss can be due to personal choices such as firing a weapon without wearing proper hearing protection, listening to loud music or riding motorcycles.

To help prevent hearing loss, people should wear hearing protection devices as taught and trained by public health personnel, and by their supervisor, said Lt. Col. Kevin Connolly, the commander of the 35th Aerospace Medicine Squadron here.

"Also, wear dual hearing protection and ensure personnel use the devices we recommend because there are some hearing protection devices out there that are less than optimal," the colonel said. 

Hearing requires that all parts of the auditory pathway work correctly, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This pathway includes the external ear, middle ear, inner ear, auditory nerve, and the connection between the auditory nerve and the brain. The exact location and nature of the problem in the auditory pathway determines the type and severity of a person's hearing loss.

"We sometimes see what's called 'significant threshold shift,' and they are pretty common," Colonel Connolly said. "But in order to be considered a true hearing loss, you need a permanent threshold shift."

Significant threshold shift, or STS, is an average change of +/- 10 or more decibels at 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000 hertz in either ear without age corrections. Permanent hearing loss, also known as permanent threshold shift or PTS, progresses constantly as noise exposure continues month after month and year after year.

"We do not have that many cases of hearing loss," Colonel Connolly said. "So we do not see that many people with PTS, and there are no trends on base in all the shops we look at to indicate there are problem areas with hearing protection."

People who work on the flightline, pilots, people who work with loud machinery or loud construction tools are strictly monitored, the colonel said.

"Certain shops are monitored more closely," Colonel Connolly said. "We test noise levels in all the Air Force shops we monitor. If testing reveals the noise is too high, the people working in those shops get put on the hearing protection program.

"Anyone who works around noise above a certain decibel level gets a yearly hearing test and gets re-educated about proper hearing protection," Colonel Connolly said. "When they come in for their occupational exam, they are asked questions about any symptoms that might indicate hearing loss. If they answer yes to any of those questions, they see their provider and then we do an evaluation and examination in addition to the hearing test. Every now and then we will get a PTS on somebody which requires further evaluation by audiology and/or ear, nose and throat doctors to take a look to make sure no other problems exist."

The colonel said most shops are doing a very good job at using dual hearing protection and "using the hearing protection devices that we recommend," he said.

Some people may have the misconception that living on an Air Force installation contributes to hearing loss. This is not true, according to the colonel. 

"Living on base does not contribute to hearing loss," Colonel Connelly said. "Being in your home or out shopping when an aircraft takes off at times may seem loud, but it will not cause hearing loss. There are many places on base that are not on the hearing protection program because they are not exposed to excessive noise levels."

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