Q: Since coming to college, I have been going to concerts and listening to music more often. I am worried about hearing loss. Am I at risk?

A: You have good reason to worry about your hearing. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is a condition that can cause permanent damage to the inner ear. It can occur after a very loud single event (like a bomb blast) or after repetitive exposure to moderately loud sounds. Going to loud concerts and listening to headphones too loud has been shown to lead to NIHL.

The intensity of sounds is measured in decibels. Whispering is in the neighborhood of 30 dB, while normal conversation is around 60-70 dB. A lawnmower puts out about 90 dB and an iPod at its highest setting cranks out 100 dB. The National Institute of Health has found that repetitive exposure to sounds greater than 85 dB can lead to NIHL. How loud is that? If you turn a stereo up to just loud enough so that you can have normal conversation over the music, it is roughly 85 dB.

There are two components involved with NIHL. The first is how loud the noise is, while the second is how long you’re exposed to it.  So what is a safe level of exposure?  It has been found to be safe to listen to iPods at 70 percent volume for 4 hours.

So what can you do to enjoy music and protect your hearing at the same time?

Most mp3 players now have options to lower the maximum volume, which is a good idea.  Purchasing noise-canceling headphones will reduce the need to turn up the volume because the ambient noise is too loud, but they’re pretty pricey.  A cheaper option would be larger ear-cup headphones that block out ambient noise better than ear buds.  If you frequent a lot of concerts, you should consider wearing earplugs – believe me, at 110-120dB (!!) you’ll still be able to enjoy the show.

Adam Brandeberry, Med IV (Ohio State University College of Medicine)

Kathy Lappert, MD (Ohio State University Student Health Services)

How many times has this happened to you? It’s happened to me twice already this morning, and it’s not even lunchtime:

Doctor: Do you take any medications?

Patient: Sure.

Doctor: What medications do you take?

Patient: That one you prescribed. No, wait. That other doctor gave it to me. It’s that blue pill, you know. I take it for my, ah what do you call it? My sugar.

Doctor:  Are you diabetic?

Patient: I think so.

Doctor: Do you remember the name of the pill at all? If I said the name would you know it?

Patient: I don’t think so. Maybe it was yellow . . .

I am of the opinion that if you’re putting something in your mouth you ought to know what it is. However, I also recognize that if you’re not a health care provider or pharmacist, names like “cyclobenzaprine”, “triamcinolone”, and “aripipirazole” don’t flow right off the tongue. I have two bits of important advice, speaking as somebody who could inadvertently make you very sick by prescribing something that doesn’t play well with something you’re already taking:

• If you can’t remember your medication name, write it down and keep it with you. Your mom and/or your doctor might not be with you when you most need to know your medications (not to mention your chronic health issues and drug allergies), like in the emergency room at 3am.
• Check out Pillbox at the National Library of Medicine when you need to know exactly what that little blue or pink pill, or yellow triangle, or striped capsule is. Your tax dollars paid for this rather cool site. Once you ID your pill there are links available to take you to the FDA drug label or the drug information portal at the National Library of Medicine. This should give you more information about your medication than you ever wanted to know. 

 Victoria Rentel, MD (Ohio State University Student Health Services)

In another installation of applied “Duh” science, today we will discuss the perils of microwave cooking.  So sit up and take note while you’re waiting for your Hot Pocket to finish cooking. 

Innumerable case reports exist in the medical literature about serious injuries caused by microwaved food.  The authors of a 2009 article from the journal Dental Update concluded:  “Microwave ovens heat food much quicker than a conventional oven, but they produce uneven heating within the food and extremely high temperatures can be reached.”  They then go on to describe two nasty cases of oral mucosal injury.

Microwave-heated food can damage not only the lining of the mouth, but also cause severe burns of the larynx and esophagus.  Many yummy microwaved treats have been implicated: milk, water, treacle tart, hot potatoes, and everyone’s favorite – cheese pie.  “NO,” you say, “Not cheese pie!”  Yes, my friends, cheese pie.

Researchers discovering that microwaved cheese can burn your mouth would seem to be akin to scientists holding a press conference to announce the groundbreaking discovery that trees are, in fact, made of wood.  But wait – your aero-digestive tract is not the only part of your body at risk.  There are numerous case reports – sadly, many of them in children – of micro waved eggs exploding and causing severe injuries to the eyes and face.   

So what are we to do?  Give up microwaving?  Cut the cheese?  Never!  But there are some precautions you should take to make sure that all of your microwaving experiences are as safe as they are tasty:

• Give food (especially high fat, dense food like cheese) plenty of time to cool. 
• Stir food thoroughly if you can.
• If you cook eggs in the microwave, remove the shell and don’t leave the yolk whole.
• Open the door carefully, and use only cookware labeled microwave-safe.
• If you feed children, especially small children and infants, exercise extreme caution when reheating formula or breast milk in the microwave. Terrible, debilitating burns with significant scarring have occurred in babies and toddlers given infant formula and breast milk superheated in the microwave.

For more information regarding microwave safety, head on over to the USDA’s microwave fact sheet.

Victoria Rentel MD