{"id":151521,"date":"2023-03-03T14:45:23","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T13:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=151521"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:40","slug":"a-permanent-ringing-in-your-ears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/03\/03\/a-permanent-ringing-in-your-ears\/","title":{"rendered":"A permanent ringing in your ears"},"content":{"rendered":"

A permanent ringing in the ears, even though you might not be elderly or hang out in a techno bunker every week. It is affecting more and more students these days. \u201cWhen you consider that tinnitus can lead to suicidal thoughts, I\u2019m managing pretty well.\u201d<\/p>

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFemke Legu\u00e9<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

People might laugh about tinnitus, but \u2018the next time you go out could have major consequences for the rest of your life\u2019, warns economics student Maurits. Maurits (his last name is known to the editors) suffers from tinnitus. It affects him 24\/7. \u201cI always hear a very high-pitched beep. It affects me particularly when it\u2019s completely quiet at home, when I go to sleep, when I\u2019ve been drinking and when I\u2019m stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quarter of young people<\/h2>

Tinnitus, which is often explained as a constant ringing in the ears, can be caused by prolonged exposure to excessively loud noise. Protecting your ears with party plugs when you go out may feel strange, until the worst happens and the ringing in your ears never goes away. Maurits feels that the risks are not yet getting through to the people around him.<\/p>\n\t

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3 March is World Hearing Day. The World Health Organization (WHO) organises this annual international day to raise awareness about hearing loss and deafness.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

A total of two million people in the Netherlands are affected by tinnitus. A quarter of young Dutch people between the ages of 12 and 25 probably have hearing damage, concluded researchers<\/a> at the Amsterdam Academic Medical Center in 2015 based on online self-tests. This number has increased in recent years due to our use of headphones and earphones, but also due to excessively loud music at nightlife venues. Experts fear<\/a> a significant increase in the number of tinnitus patients in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Embarrassing<\/h2>

It might seem embarrassing to put in those earplugs or suggest that your group of friends might move a bit further away from the speakers. But Kimberley Boutkan (24, Health Economics, Policy & Law) isn\u2019t embarrassed about it. She partly considers the subject important because her brother suffers from hearing damage. Kimberley: \u201cI don\u2019t care what other people think, this is my health we\u2019re talking about. So when I go out, which doesn\u2019t happen very often, I always wear earplugs to protect my hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I think many people are well aware that tinnitus can really affect your quality of life, but they\u2019re too frivolous with the risk\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Catering and entertainment venues play a major role in the increasing tinnitus problem. The WHO recommends<\/a> a maximum volume of 100 dB, but this has not been incorporated into Dutch law. However, an RIVM guideline specifies that clubs are allowed to produce a noise level of 103 decibel. A 3 decibel might not seem to make a big difference. However, an increase of 3 decibel equals a doubling of the noise level.<\/p>\n

Poor quality<\/h2>

Strict agreements between employers and employees do exist, for example to protect catering staff. According to the Working Conditions Act, employees must wear hearing protection from 85 decibel upwards.<\/p>\n

An EUR student who works at a bar in the Oude Haven (his name and employer are known to the editors) says that this does not happen everywhere in practice. \u201cMy CLA and contract state that the company must provide their employees with earplugs. Unfortunately, this is not the case in practice. Earplugs have only recently been provided in the office for staff, but these are of poor quality which makes it very difficult to work while wearing them. As a result, most of my colleagues have now bought earplugs themselves. At one point the intention was to provide everyone with custom earplugs, but the owner doesn\u2019t want to spend money on them.\u201d When it comes to guests, the policy is that \u2018it\u2019s everyone\u2019s own responsibility to provide hearing protection\u2019.<\/p>\n

Bass in the chest<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFemke Legu\u00e9<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

You may be wondering why the music has to be so loud in the first place. This is often what partygoers themselves want. For example, history student Mikki van Spall (23) says: \u201cThe most annoying thing is really when you\u2019re in a club and the volume of the music is too low.\u201d People want to feel the bass in their chest, and in a club you don\u2019t want to hear each other singing along out of tune.<\/p>\n

Restaurant owner Jesse Pronk (37) has tinnitus himself. As the owner of the Colorado Charlie venue in Scheveningen, a beach club that is popular among Rotterdam students in summer, he is a \u2018provider\u2019 of loud music. He says: \u201cI also have tinnitus myself, I\u2019ve had it for ten years now.\u201d The question is exactly where the responsibility lies: with the government, the entertainment venues or the music lovers themselves. Something that Pronk does notice: \u201cThe diehards head straight to the front. And yes, the volume is louder on the dance floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does Pronk do to prevent hearing damage among his audience? \u201cWe offer disposable earplugs for 1 euro and are working on a new sound system that will spread the volume more evenly across the room.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Professor of Neurophysiology Gerard Borst is conducting research into tinnitus at the Erasmus MC. He is investigating whether people with tinnitus have more difficulty hearing as a result of their tinnitus. He explains that there are two types of tinnitus: \u201cObjective tinnitus\u00a0is rare; in this case, the\u00a0sound can also be heard by others and is caused by noises produced by blood vessels or tiny vibrating bones in your ear, for example. Subjective tinnitus is produced in the brain. This variant is\u00a0much\u00a0more common.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what is subjective\u00a0tinnitus exactly? \u201cThe nerve cells in your brain that are involved in processing sound exhibit abnormal\u00a0firing behaviour, also in the absence of sound.\u00a0Most people who have tinnitus for several months never get rid of it after that. Stress can worsen the burden of tinnitus symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a link between hearing impairment and tinnitus.\u00a0You can get tinnitus from music that is too loud, but\u00a0you can also get tinnitus without having hearing damage. The exact causes of\u00a0tinnitus\u00a0are not well known at this point.\u201d For the time being, Borst advises people to stay away from\u00a0loud\u00a0music.\u00a0Or else to protect their hearing and thus prevent hearing loss and reduce the likelihood of tinnitus developing in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Suicidal thought<\/h2>

Our hearing plays quite an important role in our well-being. Many people with tinnitus experience psychosocial problems. \u201cWhen you consider that tinnitus can lead to suicidal thoughts, I\u2019m managing pretty well\u201d, says economics student Maurits. Although there is no cure for tinnitus, there are treatments that can alleviate the symptoms. Prevention and information are crucial.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Maurits believes the topic is being discussed more and more frequently these days, in the media but also among students. \u201cI think many people are well aware that tinnitus can really affect your quality of life, but they\u2019re too frivolous with the risk. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important for them to be well informed about this issue.\u201d Tinnitus is easy to prevent, but you need to be aware of it in good time.<\/p>\n\n\t

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