With more people blasting music in their earbuds, as well as attending noisy concerts and other boisterous events, an audiologist says she is seeing more patients come to her with hearing loss at a younger age.

Hearing loss can be caused by ear hair cells being damaged or “knocked down."

“Sometimes they will come back up. But if hit hard enough or hit constantly enough, those hairs die. They wear out. And that's where the hearing loss actually comes from because those nerve endings don't respond anymore. And of course, they also wear out and die with just general aging and illness and noise exposure," said Dr. Christine Hoage, a doctor of audiology with the Mohawk Valley Health System.

Hoage has 35 years in the audiology field under her belt.

One of her patients is Ashley Stewart, a third-grade teacher.

“I've been noticing some hearing loss in the past year, particularly when I'm teaching. I'm having to ask students to repeat themselves, having to move closer to students, really make sure there's no external noise distracting me," said Stewart.

Hoage said patients were typically in their 60s, but now younger people are coming in.

She said there’s a lot of noise around us.

“We're seeing a lot of people in their 50s coming in," she said. "Obviously, we're seeing teens and things like that as well. They don't tend to tend to present with quite as much loss yet.”

There are a few ways to know if you’re in an environment that’s too loud, Hoage said.

“Typically, if you have to speak up for somebody at arm's length to hear you or vice versa if you need somebody to speak up to you at arm's length, then it's too loud.”

To help protect our hearing, Hoage suggests turning down volume, using hearing protection at loud events, closing windows and doors to help block noise, and keeping machinery maintained so they’re not louder than they have to be.

“I think taking care of my hearing now will give me healthier hearing for years to come," Stewart said.