It strikes me that the sound of the dental drill cannot be muted with earplugs and therefore comes from within. How does this work, and most importantly, can this sound perceived in this way cause hearing damage (regardless of how loud it is). Is there a way to mute the sound?
Answer
Best,
The sound of the dental drill reaches the middle ear through the Eustachian tube that connects the nasal/throat cavity to the middle ear.
For that reason, it is difficult to neutralize this noise by, for example, music via headphones or earplugs.
The noise is annoying but not harmful to the duration of the treatment.
The only way that is sought is to produce engines with a reduced noise level. It is mainly the air motors that produce the most annoying noise. This noise is caused by the air impulse that spins the drill. This makes it very difficult to reduce this noise.
Sincerely
Answered by
Prof.dr. Jacques Vanobbergen
Dentistry
http://www.ugent.be
.