Kansas fans celebrate during filming of the ESPN College GameDay at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, hours before the tip-off between KU vs. Kentucky men's basketball game. The NCAA named Allen Fieldhouse the loudest arena in college basketball in December of 2013.

Like so many other medical issues, prevention is key to protecting our hearing. But how can we prevent hearing damage if we don’t know the factors that cause it in the first place?

It’s common knowledge that frequently listening to music too loud or being around a lot of loud, heavy machinery is bad for our ears, but some parts of our everyday lives — including our medications — can cause hearing damage without us realizing it.

Otolaryngologist Dr. Leo Martinez, of Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates, explained that very loud and intense one-time sounds, such as an explosion, can damage hearing, as can longer-term exposure to noise.

That longer-term exposure can include things such as wireless headphones or amplifiers to listen to the TV, Martinez said. Oftentimes, people who already suffer from hearing damage will purchase wireless headsets so they can listen to the TV at a volume that is clear to them without blasting the rest of the family out of the room.

“That can cause serious issues if they have those up too loud, and the noise is going directly into the ears,” he said.

Similarly, Martinez tells patients to utilize hearing protection when they’re using equipment for yard work, such as a lawnmower or string trimmer.

“Once you have a little bit of hearing loss, even just a little bit more is a big difference in your understanding of speech,” he said. “… So I always tell people to protect their hearing when they do yard work like that.”

Lawrence and Kansas City sports fans also hold some bragging rights in the noise department, but that might not necessarily be a good thing for our hearing. The NCAA named Allen Fieldhouse the loudest arena in college basketball in December 2013. Curtis Marsh, director of Kansas University’s new DeBruce Center, said he believes the record in Allen Fieldhouse is 118 decibels, and he has “regularly seen the loud-o-meter hit 116.”

In September 2014, Arrowhead Stadium set the Guinness World Record for the loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium (outdoors) at 142.2 decibels. That’s approximately equivalent to a jet engine at takeoff. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, sound levels above 110 decibels can cause permanent hearing loss with regular exposure of more than one minute.

Martinez said to “absolutely” wear earplugs to games, concerts or other excessively loud events.

Additionally, a study conducted at Eastern Kentucky University and published in the Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work last year found that the cry of a child can reach between 90 and 120 decibels, and highly recommended that caregivers of excessively crying or colicky children wear earplugs.

It’s not just noise

Laura Schmidtberger, a hearing instrument specialist with Southwestern Hearing Centers in Lawrence, said although noise is a major factor in hearing loss, some medications can also contribute to hearing damage.

Ototoxic medications can include some antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs, which have been known to cause permanent hearing damage, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Some pain relievers, such as aspirin, and loop diuretics have been known to cause temporary damage to the hearing, as well.

“A lot of people don’t (know about that possibility), especially with older populations,” Schmidtberger said.

Colds and allergies can also cause temporary hearing loss, Martinez said. He said parts of our ears make mucous to clean themselves out, the same way our noses do. If the backs of our noses are severely clogged, that mucous can get trapped, and the excess fluid prevents the eardrum from vibrating as well as it normally would.

For clogged ears, Martinez recommends taking an antihistamine medication or using a nasal steroid spray. (More advice on the allergy battle can be found here.)

You only get one pair of ears

Martinez explained that sound waves travel down your ear canal and hit the eardrum, causing it to vibrate, which then induces the middle-ear bones to vibrate. Those bones hit the inner ear, a fluid-filled cavity that contains thousands of tiny hair cells, he said.

“It turns the vibration into a chemical signal that the brain gets, so over time, if the noise is very loud or if you’re having a long-term exposure to very high, loud noises, those hair cells don’t vibrate as easily, and that causes people to have typical what we call sensorineural hearing loss,” Martinez said.

And once the damage is done, it’s done. Schmidtberger said those little hair cells don’t grow back, and there’s no repairing the loss.

“There isn’t any magic pill or treatment that’s going to reverse the hearing loss,” Martinez said.

Lines of defense

Martinez said there are two main options to protect your hearing. The first are little foam earplugs you can buy at most stores, fairly cheap. He said for casual use, such as during a one-night-only event, they should suffice.

However, for people such as musicians who are around the noise consistently, he recommends a second option: custom-made earplugs molded to fit your ear canal perfectly.

He also mentioned noise-canceling headphones, which he said he has heard work fairly well, but he would recommend using earplugs along with them in order to best protect your hearing.

Once damage is done

Although you can’t turn back the clock or undo what’s been done, Martinez said hearing loss needs to be treated because it can lead to other medical problems.

“If you feel like you’re having difficulty understanding people in social interactions with a lot of background noise, people tend to shy away from being socially active because of their hearing loss,” he said. “… That can cause depression, and so forth.”

Schmidtberger said she wants people to know that hearing issues impact others, as well.

“It’ll make socializing with your family and your friends a lot easier and a lot more fun if you can communicate with them properly,” she said. “… Keep in mind that you’re not alone; (treating your hearing loss is) something that your whole family is truly going to appreciate and benefit from.”