One in five Americans has their daily life affected by hearing loss and earbuds blaring loud music may be just a small factor. Katherine Harmon reports
有1/5的美国人的日常生活被听力减退的问题困扰着，同时，播放着劲爆音乐的耳机可能只占诱发因素的一小部分。Katherine Harmon报道
Many people take their hearing for granted. But a new report shows that as many as one in five Americans suffers from hearing loss severe enough to affect their daily life. The findings are in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Aging is the most common risk factor. But the 48 million people in the U.S. who have some hearing loss in at least one ear included kids as young as 12. So why are so many people affected? Loud music and earbuds might not be to blame just yet, according to the study. In fact, the new numbers suggest that the risk for hearing loss might actually be going down over time, as people get smarter about protecting their hearing and move away from louder industrial jobs. The most common sources of noise-induced hearing loss include explosions, power tools, music and common machinery. The best way to fend off future hearing loss is to protect your ears with earplugs or noise-reducing earmuffs. So, can you hear me now?
很多人对自己的耳朵没有给予足够的重视。但是一项新的报告说明，有1/5的美国人有着严重的听力减退问题，以至于影响到了他们的日常生活。这些调查结果刊载在《内科医学档案》中。年龄是最普遍的影响因素。但是，在4千8百万个至少一只耳朵有听力减退问题的美国人中，也包括了12岁的孩子。问题是，为什么会有如此多的人受此影响。根据研究发现，大声的音乐和耳机可能不应该承担如此多的责备。事实上，随着人们变得越来越注意保护听力和有意识的远离嘈杂的工作，威胁听力的因素也之降低了。最常见的引发听力减退的噪音来源包括爆炸声、电动工具、高音量的音乐和常见的机械。最好的避免听力减退的方式就是使用耳塞或降低噪音的耳套。现在，你能听到我的话么？每天，有1/5的美国人被减退的听力困扰着，而高音量的耳机可能只是很小的因素。Katherine Harmon 报道
——Katherine Harmon