Facts About Hearing Loss

Facts about Hearing
Did You Know…

* Fish do not have ears, but they can hear pressure changes through ridges on their body.
* The ear’s malleus, incus and stapes (otherwise known as the hammer, anvil and stirrup) are the smallest bones in the human body. All three combined could fit together on a penny.
* The whole area of the middle ear is no bigger than an M&M.
* The ear continues to hear sounds, even while you sleep.
* Cicadas have their hearing organs in their stomachs.
* Crickets have their hearing organs in their knees.
* Ears not only help you hear, but also aid in balance.
* Sound travels at the speed of 1,130 feet per second, or 770 miles per hour.
* Male mosquitoes hear with thousands of tiny hairs growing on their antennae.
* Snakes do not have ears, but their tongues are sensitive to sound vibrations.
* In World War I parrots were kept on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, because of their remarkable sense of hearing. When the parrots heard the enemy aircraft coming they would warn everyone of the approaching danger long before any human ear would hear it.
* The ear has over 25,000 tiny hair cells to help you hear the nuances of sound.

Facts about Hearing Loss
Did You Know…

* 1 out of 10 Americans has a hearing loss, which is more than 36,000,000 people. This number is expected to rapidly climb and nearly double by the year 2030.
* 3 out of 1,000 children are born with hearing loss.
* 1.2 million children have hearing loss.
* Among seniors, hearing loss is the third most prevalent, but treatable disabling condition, behind arthritis and hypertension.
* Approx. 30% of people over age 65 have hearing loss.
* The majority (65%) of people with hearing loss are below retirement age.
* The majority (60%) of people with hearing loss are males.
* Every day in the United States, approximately 1 in 1,000 newborns (or 33 babies every day) is born profoundly deaf with another 2-3 out of 1,000 babies born with partial hearing loss, making hearing loss the number one birth defect in America.
* Excessive noise is the number one reason for hearing loss.
* Experts agree that continued exposure to noise of 86dB or louder, over time, will eventually harm hearing.
* If you cannot carry on a conversation in the presence of noise, it is too loud for your ears and can potentially cause hearing loss.
* 1 in 4 workers exposed to high levels of noise will develop a hearing loss.
* Professions at risk of hearing loss include firefighters, police officers, factory workers, farmers, construction workers, military personnel, heavy industry workers, musicians, and entertainment industry professionals.