An accident sustained on the property of another person or in a public establishment may result in one of many different kinds of injuries. A fall or an impact, for example, could break a bone in just about any location in your body. However, injuries on a premises can inflict other kinds of serious bodily damage, such as a permanent loss of hearing.
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, a person who sustains a traumatic brain injury may experience hearing loss. If you suffer a blow to the head as a result of the negligence of another party, the impact may negatively impact your hearing for a number of reasons.
How head injuries affect hearing
As the ASHA explains, the middle ear contains tiny bones that help regulate hearing. These bones move when sounds hit them, which helps convey sounds to the eardrum. But because these bones are fragile, a traumatic brain injury or any blow to the head could damage them. These bones may not move as they used to, which can diminish your hearing. Additionally, a blow to your head can also inflict direct harm on your eardrums.
Sometimes a head injury does not immediately affect your hearing. You may lose hearing over time, perhaps over a span of years following your original injury. You might also experience tinnitus. This is a condition that causes a ringing in your ears.
Loud noises can cause hearing loss
You could lose hearing without suffering a head injury. The ASHA points out that people may suffer hearing loss from a very loud noise. An extremely loud sound like an explosion may cause a quick loss of hearing. Noise that is not as loud but still too loud for normal tolerance may instead cause a gradual loss of hearing.
A loss of hearing from a loud noise is less common than other losses of hearing. Nonetheless, it may happen. A workplace that operates loud machinery should take steps to alert workers and pedestrians to the presence of loud noise, or insulate their properties so that people with unprotected ears do not venture too close to the noise.