The most common cause of permanent hearing loss is noise exposure. That being said, unless you live in a perfectly quiet world, it is likely that you are exposing your hearing organ (cochlea) to excessive vibration. We hear through vibration and vibration is what causes the damage! It is a Catch-22. The hearing organ is fragile. The cochlea is the size of a green pea, curled like a snail and filled with fluid. Inside this tiny, sophisticated organ are rows of nerves that sit on a membrane … [Read more...] about Protecting Against Noise: How Hearing is Damaged