Why Does Loud Noise Cause Hearing Loss?

Since the onset of the Industrial Age in the late 1800s, the world has become an extremely noisy place. The invention of automobiles, factory machinery, radios, television, and construction equipment quickly replaced the quiet sounds of nature and the silence of rooms without entertainment centers or huge computer monitors blaring the latest Netflix film. Since our ears did not evolve in such a cacophonous setting, they do not endure well under the constant barrage of loud noises emerging from our homes, our workplace, and our cities.