Mark Toohey stands at attention, staring straight ahead while sweat saturates his brow in the blistering afternoon sun. A drum major whistles three times, and Toohey and the ISU Marching Band Drumline break into a rendition of “Iowa State Groove.”

Thousands of Cyclone football fans go wild. Toohey and his colleagues have spent hundreds of hours practicing for this moment. At the end of the song, the drumline makes an about face turn and files off the football field.

Toohey, junior in finance, said he enjoys performing more than just about anything, but it has come at a price.

“My first year on the drumline, I didn’t wear any earplugs during band camp,” he said. “I remember after practice my ears would just ring and ring and they hurt really bad.”

After getting his ears checked at Thielen Student Health Center, Toohey was told he had irreparable hearing damage and scar tissue on his ear drums.

“Ever since then I’ve been wearing earplugs every time we play,” he said. “I mean, I definitely want to be able to hear when I’m old. I don’t want to be some senile old man or something. I know I’m already going to have a hard enough time, so I’m trying pretty hard to preserve the hearing I’ve got left.”

Statistics show that hearing loss among young adults is on the fast track to becoming an epidemic. Data collected by the directors of the Duke University Marching Band show that football games commonly reach noise levels of more than 100 decibels.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, sounds louder than 85 decibels can cause permanent damage to ears. Exposure to loud noises damages hair cells in the inner ear, as well as the hearing nerve. Common symptoms include short periods of muffled hearing and ringing in the ears – symptoms many young adults can relate to having experienced after hearing a concert, parade or other loud event.

David Stuart, professor of music, said excess hearing loss is caused every day in our constantly moving society.

“Everything from rock concerts to lawn mowers and motorcycles take a toll on people’s ears,” Stuart said. “A lot of it isn’t just the sheer volume of it – it’s prolonged exposure to it.”

Stuart said students who habitually attend live concerts suffer more exposure than most.

“Music these days is so dang loud. All the performers are half deaf from performing so much, [so] they turn up their amps to compensate,” Stuart said. “Of course, this could be combated by wearing earplugs, but you know a lot of people think earplugs make them look like sissies.”

Live music and loud events aren’t the only places hearing loss is caused. Irreparable hearing loss also can happen when students travel to and from class with MP3 players blaring music through headphones.

According to several news reports, the iPod, which is capable of producing sounds up to 115 decibels, is often used by students to drown out sounds while they are riding the bus or in a car. When this is done, not only are the sounds of the vehicles still taking their toll on the listener’s ears, but the cranked-up music carries dangerously loud sound waves, also.

John Misra, junior in mechanical engineering, listens to his iPod daily despite the risk of hearing loss.

“I listen to my iPod every morning on the bus because I hate hearing the ridiculous conversations of people that are awake too early,” Misra said. “I turn it up loud enough to drown out all unwanted noise, and I have been hearing different reports about how iPods can damage your hearing and all that, but I’m not too worried about it right now.”

Recent research done by the Better Hearing Institute shows that the number of Americans suffering from hearing loss has doubled in the last 20 years, increasing from 16 million in 1984 to 31.5 million in 2005. The institute predicts the numbers will continue to grow.

Stuart said hearing loss is definitely looking like it’s going to be a serious problem for the younger generation.

“More than any generation before it, you guys are damaging your ears,” Stuart said. “But who knows – maybe they’ll have super-tiny hearing aids by the time you’re 65.”

Stuart said even if damage is already done, it’s not too late for students to start protecting their ears.

“Even if you’ve already damaged your hearing, if you start taking better care of your ears now – you’ll sure as heck have better hearing in the long run,” Stuart said.