<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->

Hearing loss is one of the sneakiest forms of permanent damage people can develop. Not only is damage hard to detect, but it often doesn't appear at all until many years down the line. Worst of all, most people find risky activities to be enjoyable. If you like reading books up close to your eyes, for example, you might find it hard to believe that you have a bad habit. It's not like you're smoking, drinking or doing drugs, where you can expect some long-term health consequences. You're just reading a book! That's how it feels for a lot of risky activities involving your ears. Look at the following examples and see if you're not at least a little surprised.

1. Most people love listening to music on their portable mp3 players. Little do they know, they could be doing immense damage to their ears. There are two main reasons why this is a risky activity. For starters, most people like to pump the volume up to literally deafening levels. In fact, the music might not even sound good to them unless they can't raise the volume up any higher. Second of all, they often listen to that music with in-ear headphones. These kinds of headphones are placed dangerously close to delicate hearing tissues. These two factors combine to make mp3 players one of the worst risky activities you can participate in.

2. Similar to the above item, people love watching movies at home. They may like movies so much that they might have purchased an expensive sound system that can shake the very foundations of the house when the volume is pumped up. Unfortunately, such a system can end up causing a lot of hearing damage to everyone around. Again, many people only enjoy their movie experience when the volume is pumped up high, which makes this activity especially dangerous.

3. Not all damage has to be done by your electronics at home. It can be done by electronics somewhere else. You could be the kind of person that loves going to concerts to listen to their favorite bands live. Nothing quite compares to the experience of hearing them in person. Nothing also quite compares to the damage you could be doing to your ears, especially if you happen to be standing next to one of the large speakers. Often times, these kinds of venues are big and the speakers have to be loud enough so everyone can hear. The only problem is that people right next to the speakers hear the music too loudly.

4. Many people like to go out and dance whenever their schedule permits. It gives them the chances to unwind and shake their stress away. Unfortunately, it also gives them the opportunity to experience some hearing damage. These kinds of venues tend to pump up the music so loud that you'll experience some temporary hearing loss right then and there. After you're finished, you and your friends will be screaming at each other trying to have a normal conversation, all because your ears took a beating inside the dance club. Unfortunately, go often enough to these kinds of venues and you will experience more permanent damage.