Can you hear me now? Tips to avoid hearing loss

Everyone has done it: You need some momentum on the treadmill, so you crank up your iPod. Or you turn up your car stereo when you drive by a loud construction site or your favorite song comes on and then forget to turn it back down. It might sound obvious but exposing yourself to loud noises for a prolonged period of time may irreversibly damage your hearing. Your body can hear thanks to hair cells inside your ears that transform sound energy into electrical signals. Those signals get sent to your brain. Excessive sound energy damages those hair cells, eventually causing them to die. Our bodies don't regenerate new hair cells and the louder the noise, the more damage that can be done to them.

Here are a few tips to keep your hearing sharp.

TURN IT DOWN At maximum volume, the average MP3 player blares at an ear-splitting115 decibels. Compare that to the noise a power saw makes at about 110 decibels. The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery says it only takes 100 decibels of sound for
15 minutes to cause permanent hearing damage. If someone an arm's length away can hear what is coming through your headphones, turn the volume down by at least 30 percent. You can also adjust the volume settings on your computer to 60 percent.

CANCEL OUT THE NOISE If you need to use headphones, noise-canceling headphones are a better option. When you block out background noise, it's easier to focus on what you're listening to. You'll find yourself turning up the volume a lot less. Background noise isn't something people often pay attention to, but a person's risk for hearing loss increases depending on how much background noise they are exposed to.

TAKE A BREAK How long you spend listening to a loud noise may also affect your hearing. Continually listening to loud music or being in a loud environment without ear protection for several hours may increase your risk of damage. Give your ears a break: wear ear protection or ear plugs, try to retreat to a quieter location for a few minutes every hour, and pause your music at least once every 90 minutes.

The main point to remember is that loud noise from any source, whether it's your car stereo or a power tool, for a prolonged period of time, will degenerate your hearing.

Be sure to tune in to Dr. Sanjay Gupta every weekend on HOUSE CALL. You'll find the answers to your medical questions Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on CNN.