Ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists are warning that Belgium could be facing an epidemic of hearing loss among young people with the real risk of a whole generation suffering from deafness due to prolonged exposure to loud sounds in daily life.
When listening to music, many people do not always pay attention to the volume of sound, an activity that is not without consequences on hearing. ENT specialists say that the younger people are, the more fragile their ears will be and that prolonged listening at a high volume can cause irreversible damage to the inner ear leading to tinnitus or deafness.
"In this area of the ear, we have a lot of small receptors that take care of a sound," Professor Jerome Lechien, ENT at the Epicura hospital in Mons, told RTBF. "When it is too strong, it may cause long-term hearing loss in the place that has been damaged."
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According to experts, the number of cases observed among those under 25 years old has doubled in recent years with 5% of young people affected by this problem. The difficulty is that they often realise the problem only when it is too late.
"When you lose the first percent of hearing, you do not realise it, but that percent is lost forever," Professor Lechien said. "This means that in a few years, we will see more cases of deafness. Teenagers or young people will realise that they have lost their hearing and it will be too late."
The doctor advises against the use of headphones for young children. It is also necessary to limit the listening volume to 80 decibels and use earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones during concerts.
