A medical professional in Des Moines recommends students not stay in bars for longer than an hour at a time. It’s not smoke or alcohol that Kent Weaver’s concerned about, however – it’s the fact that noisy bars can damage ears and lead to hearing loss.

Weaver, audiology supervisor for Des Moines Speech and Hearing Center, listed bars and car stereos as two potential causes of hearing loss. Both are commonly used by college students, who are suffering from hearing loss problems now more than ever, said Karen Burk, supervisor of nursing services at Ames Lab.

The Occupational Medicine Department, where Burk works, is distributing information about the seventh annual International Noise Awareness Day Wednesday in room G11 of the Technical and Administrative Services Facility.

Car stereos aren’t the only cause of hearing loss problems, but they do play a big role in the recent hearing loss trend, said Burk, who is a certified occupational hearing conservationist.

Stereo systems can range in volume from 110 to 155 decibels. Exposure to even 105 decibels is considered unsafe.

Burk said listening to music through headphones exposes a person to the same sound level as if there was someone standing next to them yelling in their ear.

“Sometimes you can hear [someone else’s headphones] as well as they can,” Burk said.

The actual damage varies from person to person. Two people can be exposed to the same sound, but will be affected differently, Weaver said. Exposure to loud noises causes a temporary threshold shift, which results in short-term hearing loss and tinnitus, or ringing in the ears.

There are many precautions to take when in noisy environments, such as wearing earplugs.

Weaver said the most common complaint about earplugs is that they affect the quality of the sound, but now there are “musician’s earplugs” that reduce noise evenly and protect the sound quality.

When going to places where earplugs aren’t normally worn – such as a bar – Weaver recommended taking breaks from the loud noises.

“Don’t stay inside [a noisy bar] for much more than an hour,” he said.

“Go into it for a little bit then give yourself a break and walk outside for a little bit.”