A growing number of teenagers and young adults are losing their hearing.
Hearing loss often affects older people but one study is suggesting that up to 15 percent of school age children are also experiencing some level of hearing loss.
Megan Wall suffered hearing loss at the age of four following a bout of scarlet fever.
She relies on hearing aids now and says she only hears sounds without them.
“It sounds like I’m under water pretty muffled, said Megan.
Hearing aids are getting better but they aren't the answer.
They don’t always work and Megan says she still has to read lips at times.
It is not clear why a growing number of teenagers and young adults are losing their hearing but experts think it is likely from living in a noisy world.
The risks come from all sorts of sources and surprisingly portable music players are not only to blame.
“There is some risk to music and some risk to the use of personal listening devices or iPods. There is some risk, although I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a hearing health hazard, in the sense that all our young people are going deaf just because they’re listening to music today,” said Werner Roth, Sonus Hearing Care Audiologist.
Roth says ear protection does help, even if it’s just those little orange ear plugs from the local drugstore.
(With files from Karen Owen)
