Knowing how we hear will help to understand how loud noise causes hearing loss.
Permanent hearing loss happens as follows:
- Loud noise sends sound waves toward eardrum with strong force.
- When loud noise passes through middle ear, it travels to inner ear.
- As it reaches inner ear, tiny cells (called hair cells)
there is permanently damaged.
- Only healthy hair cells can send electrical signal to brain.
- Damaged hair cells cannot send electrical signal to brain. So brain can
not "hear".
Once hair cells are damaged, no treatment can repair.