Beware of high-decibel sounds on earphones, UAE doctors say

Beware of high-decibel sounds on earphones, UAE doctors say

Dubai: For many years, Habib-Ur Rahman, 42, from Peshawar, Pakistan, working as a driver in a Dubai-based company, struggled with progressive hearing loss. But he didn't give it much thought. "It was only my left ear that was impacted, so I was managing until one day fluid started oozing out from that ear and a sharp pain. I went to the hospital, underwent many tests. Initially, they tried medication, but when that failed, in October 2020, I had to undergo a surgery for the perforations in my inner ear. By God's grace, I no longer suffer from any pain. I can hear well too," Rahman said. Doctors in Dubai say there are many others like Rahman who complain of progressive hearing loss as a result of exposure to high decibels of noise. Progressive hearing loss is said to impact one in four people worldwide, but the good news is that timely medical intervention can avert deafness and even restore the sense of hearing in as many as 90 per cent people. According to research carried out by a UAE-based hearing aids and solutions company, approximately four per cent of the people in the country suffered from progressive hearing loss in