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Noise-induced hearing loss

Hypacusis e strepitu · Ztráta sluchu z hluku

What it is

Loud noise kills the hair cells of the inner ear for good; one of the commonest occupational diseases, and more and more from personal music.

Symptoms & signs

  • Muffled hearing and ringing after noise, at first temporary
  • a notch at 4 kHz on the hearing test
  • trouble following speech in noise
  • lasting tinnitus

🚩 Get help if…

  • see a doctor soon Sudden hearing loss in one ear — see a doctor within a day
  • see a doctor soon Ringing in one ear only, or with dizziness
  • see a doctor soon Pain or discharge from the ear
  • see a doctor soon Hearing worse after a blast or loud noise that does not recover

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • No cure — the loss is permanent
  • hearing aids
  • removal from noise so it does not progress
  • steroids within days of a single blast (acoustic trauma)

Natural & lifestyle

  • Hearing protection above 85 dB
  • music volume and time limits
  • quieter machines at the source
  • regular hearing tests in noisy jobs

Emerging & experimental

  • Drugs that protect or regrow hair cells (in trials)

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Magnesium and N-acetylcysteine — small studies after noise exposure; no proven effect early / small studies
  • Hearing supplements (ginkgo, zinc blends) — no evidence they restore hearing anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes