World Health Organization Music Hearing Loss - The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that up to 1.1 billion people across the globe stand a risk of losing their hearing due to unsafe use of personal multimedia devices and being exposed to unhealthy sound levels at public places such as nightclubs and stadiums.

"As they go about their daily lives doing what they enjoy, more and more young people are placing themselves at risk of hearing loss," explains Dr. Etienne King, the WHO Director for the Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention."They should b aware that once you lose your hearing, it won't come back. Taking simple preventive actions will allow people to continue to enjoy themselves without putting their hearing at risk."

The chances of a particular sound destroying a person's ear cells depends on the intensity of the sound and the duration of time the person is exposed to it. According to the WHO safe listening guide, you should not be exposed to the noise inside your car (85 dB) for 8 hours, a lawn mower (90 dB) for 2 hours and 30 minutes, a motorcycle (95 dB) for 47 minutes, a car horn or underground train (100 dB) for 15 minutes, an mp3 player at maximum volume (105 dB) for 4 minutes, music at a loud rock concert (115 dB) for 28 seconds and a vuvuzela or siren (120 dB) for 9 seconds.

According to a WHO study, people aged between 12 and 35 years in middle and high income countries are most susceptible to this threat of hearing loss due to overexposure to loud sounds.

As part of the activities to mark the International Ear Care Day (Mar. 3), the WHO has launched the "Make Listening Safe" initiative to educate people about the potential consequences of unsafe listening.

To protect your hearing, the WHO advises that you keep the volume of your multimedia device low and restrict your listening time to less than an hour daily. It is also advisable to wear earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones when visiting loud places or take short breaks from listening.

The organization has also called on parents, manufacturers of personal multimedia devices, managers of entertainment centers and health officials to all play their part in educating the public about safe listening practices.