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About life: deafening, deafness and worse

1. Original Title: Overleven: keilvid, keidoof eh … erger
2. Director: Tine Cornelissen
3. Scientific Advisor: Prof. Bart Vinck (Università di Gent)
4. Editor: Frédéric Castiam
5. Production: Lut Gouwy, VRT/Canvas
6. Belgium
7. 35 min.
8. 2005

In the last ten years, people in Flanders and everywhere else in the world have lost a considerable portion of their hearing capacity. Caused by too much surrounding noise and a poor lifestyle, this problem is especially serious among young boys and girls, but it basically affects the whole population. “In the past, people’s hearing capacity remained intact until they were 30; today, it’s hard to find an 18-year-old whose hearing capacity hasn’t already been compromised” is the disquieting introducing statement. In this episode, the Flemish science series About Life investigates the size of this problem.
Six young boys and girls undergo a hearing test before entering a disco and then again later, after being exposed to very loud music for five hours. The test results show a decreased hearing capacity. Professor Bart Vinck from the Gent University, a scientific advisor to the program, gives a word of caution: the damage might become permanent. Our ears can withstand max. 75 decibels of environmental noise (the equivalent of a loud conversation) for approx. eight hours a day. When this threshold value is exceeded, there’s a risk of lesions.
The episode entitled Deafening, deafness and worse focuses on people who suffer from impaired hearing and on the surgical procedures currently being tested to help them. Understanding the enormous impact such problems can have on a person’s life is quite difficult for those who are not affected. So, besides providing information about hearing impairment, this documentary also enables viewers to put themselves in the shoes of people who suffer from it.