Hearing Loss Culture

Why most of us are half-deaf by middle age

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This article was inspired a by another one on a similar topic by Brendareeves, MEd.

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I go to the gym about 3–4 times a week. I have been doing it for more than 10 years. I like group fitness classes: kickboxing, boot camp, muscle mix, etc. The combination of invigorating music, instructors who are taking care of optimized routines and proper time intervals, and fellow gym regulars — all of it makes my gym experience enjoyable most of the time.

Every time, without exception, I bring my tiny earplugs. They are attached to my water bottle. I plug my ears immediately upon entering the fitness studio as the loud music usually blasts, even before the class begins. I can still hear the music very well, but not at those hearing-damaging levels as it is supposed to (?) be listened to.

None of my fellow gym-goers, nor the instructor, wears hearing protection. This makes me think that they are already half-deaf, so they are not suffering from those decibels. Most are middle-aged people, i.e., not particularly young or old.

I keep my ears plugged until I leave the building, but sometimes, I have to plug them again before I get into the car because of other hardly bearable noise pollution attackers: lawnmowers…