Can hearing damage worsen from loud noise exposure again?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have a question about hearing. Firstly, I understand that hearing loss occurs when the tiny hair cells in the inner ear are damaged. My question is,

Once a specific hair cell has been damaged, will the same sound level that initially caused the damage hurt it again?
For example, if you listened to a sound at 90 dB for nine hours and your hearing was damaged, would doing the same thing on another day further damage your hearing?
Or would it not change anything, since your ears would not be registering the same level of sound as before?

Kindly suggest.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

There are two types of hearing loss: temporary threshold shift and permanent hearing loss. Temporary hearing loss occurs after exposure to a sudden burst of sound, causing the hair cells to become fatigued. Hearing typically recovers after a short period.

In contrast, permanent hearing loss, especially at severe levels across all frequencies, means a person may not perceive the same loudness of sounds afterward.

In some cases, a condition called recruitment can occur, where certain pathologies cause sounds to feel abnormally loud.

For example, a person with recruitment may not react to a loud sound of 80 dB but may find a sound at 90 dB uncomfortably loud, similar to how a person with normal hearing would react. The experience of sound sensitivity depends on the specific pathology and severity of the hearing loss.

I hope this has helped you. Please feel free to reach me again in case of further queries.

Thank you.