Doctor Frank R. Lin, lead author of the study and assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine said, "Aging and genetics do sometimes play a role, but what we know now is that environmental exposures - like listening to music too loudly - can contribute to long term hearing damage over time. It's a growing concern. The tricky thing about loud noise exposure is that most people won't see the impact for many years later, so consumers aren't aware they are damaging their hearing until it's too late."