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Vehicles utilize the three zipper lanes on the eastbound side in addition to the seven lanes on the westbound side, of Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City early Monday morning, April 1, 2024, as millions of people return to work after the four-day Holy Week break.

Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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Traffic Returns

Arra Perez

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Do your family or friends complain of your inclination towards &quot;loud volume,&quot; when that is just the &quot;normal&quot; sound for you?</p><p>Dr. Kimberly Ong, Assistant Director of the Philippine National Ear Institute, shared indicators of hearing loss or problems on one&#x27;s hearing.</p><p>&quot;Iyong iba parang umuugong lang ang tenga paminsan. Iyong iba nahihirapan na silang makipag-usap kapagka medyo maingay lang kaunti iyong paligid, kailangan nilang paulit iyong sinabi ng kausap nila... Iyong iba... nilalakasan iyong volume ng TV, tapos nagco-complain siguro iyong mga kapamilya na, &#x27;Bakit ang lakas ng volume?&#x27; Parang naiingayan na sila, pero ikaw parang pakiramdam mo normal pa iyong volume,&quot; she told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>(Some people might experience ringing in their ears at times, while others find it difficult to converse when the surroundings are slightly noisy; they need their colleague to repeat themselves. Others might turn up the volume on the TV, and their family members that this is already too loud, but the volume is still normal for you.)</p><p>She reminded the public that while it may be difficult to measure noise levels in daily activities, it is important to be conscious not only of the noise but also of the duration of exposure to it.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a combination of iyong lakas ng pinakikinggan mo at iyong tagal mong pinakikinggan iyong malakas na tunog na iyon,&quot; she said.</p><p>(It&#x27;s a combination of both the volume of what you&#x27;re listening to and how long you&#x27;re exposed to that loud sound.)</p><p>She said it is recommended that the volume of device sounds is less than 50 percent of the maximum volume.</p><p>Ong also has tips for concert- or bar-goers.</p><p>&quot;Usually ang mga bar, concert music umaabot yan more than 100, 120 decibels... Mas maganda na pagkatapos mong um-attend noon, ipapahinga mo talaga iyong tenga. Kasi may time, may opportunity pa naman para mag-recover iyong pandinig mo. Pwede pa siyang mag-normalize even after marinig iyon.”</p><p>(Usually, in bars and concerts, the music can reach more than 100, 120 decibels. It&#x27;s better to rest your ears after attending such events because there&#x27;s still time and opportunity for your hearing to recover and normalize even after exposure to loud noise.)</p><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3057722"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>EDSA ENFORCERS AND HEARING LOSS</strong></div><p>Ong is also the lead researcher of the study of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the University of the Philippines-Manila (UP Manila) titled, &quot;Association between occupational noise exposure level and pure-tone audiometry abnormalities among Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) employees: A cross-sectional study.&quot;</p><p>The study showed that there is a link between occupational noise exposure and hearing problems of some MMDA traffic enforcers assigned along EDSA, one of Metro Manila&#x27;s busiest and major roads.</p><p>It also found that traffic enforcers who were exposed to eight hours’ of sound pressure level exceeding 85 decibels or sound volume have at least 25 percent higher chance of developing hearing abnormalities.</p><p>Ong explained that, ideally, a person&#x27;s noise exposure should be below an average of 85 decibels over an eight-hour period.</p><p>Among the 108 MMDA personnel-participants, approximately 16 percent &quot;had moderate hearing loss or worse on at least one ear&quot;.</p><p>&quot;Ang problem sa mga traffic noise ay komplikado siya kasi halu-halo ang nangyayaring ingay: may construction na nangyayari sa tabi ng kalye, maraming dumadaan na bus, may train, may mga kotse... ‘Pag pinagsama sama mo na, puwede siyang lumagpas ng 85 decibels... Nagiging problematic siya ‘pag sobrang tagal mo siyang pinakikinggan or sobrang tagal kang exposed doon sa tunog na iyon,&quot; Ong shared.</p><p>(The problem with traffic noise is its complexity because it&#x27;s a mix of various sounds: a nearby construction, buses passing by, trains, and cars. When you combine all these sounds, it can exceed 85 decibels. It becomes problematic when you listen to it for prolonged periods or are exposed to that sound for a long time.)</p><p>The MMDA acknowledged the need to address the so-called hearing loss of traffic enforcers, and the effects to the respiratory system of smoke coming from vehicles, as they are also exposed to pollution.</p><p>The agency will do this in a way that will still allow them to perform their jobs.</p><p>&quot;Hindi naman po puwedeng completely magkaroon ng ear plugs iyong aming mga enforcers para hindi maapektuhan [ang pandinig] dahil delikado rin iyan sa kanila. Hindi nila maririnig kung may parating na sasakyan,&quot; MMDA Acting Chairperson Romando Artes said in a press conference.</p><p>(Our enforcers cannot completely wear earplugs to protect their hearing because it is also risky for them. They will not be able to hear approaching vehicles.)</p><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="2940797"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script></div><p>In the case of Jay Mark Pillar, who has spent his 10-year stint as an MMDA traffic enforcer mostly on EDSA, he no longer minds the whole day’s worth of car horns honking, train noise, and other sounds heard on one of the main roads in Metro Manila.</p><p>&quot;Minsan... nilalakasan namin [ang boses] sa mga kasamahan namin, pag minsan nagkakaroon na rin ng problema [sa pandinig]. Talagang kailangan namin magtrabaho... Kumbaga nasanay na kami. Kung minsan hindi na namin nararamdaman,&quot; shared Pillar, who is also the MMDA Sector Commander of EDSA-Ortigas to Boni Avenue.</p><p>(Sometimes we talk loudly among ourselves, and sometimes problems on our hearing start to arise. We need to work so we just got used to it, to the point of not feeling anything anymore.)</p><p>Ong shared noise monitoring can also be done, wherein areas with high noise levels are identified.</p><p>She also believes that hearing health should be discussed more, in a bid to help educate more people in taking care of their hearing.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/18/study-links-edsa-traffic-enforcers-hearing-loss-to-noise-exposure-1754">Study links EDSA traffic enforcers&#x27; hearing loss to noise exposure</a></div>

<p>Do your family or friends complain of your inclination towards "loud volume," when that is just the "normal" sound for you?</p>

Do your family or friends complain of your inclination towards "loud volume," when that is just the "normal" sound for you?

Ringing ears, blurring between noise and normal volume? You might have hearing loss, expert says

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Ringing ears, blurring between noise and normal volume? You might have hearing loss, expert says

Arra Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 20, 2024 11:24 PM PHT

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Hearing

health

MMDA

traffic enforcers

noise exposure

ears

hearing loss

UP Manila

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