Summer has finally arrived, and you’re ready for all those things we’ve been looking forward to: going to the beach, chilling out by the pool, and impaired hearing? You might find yourself in external situations or exposed to other loud noises this summer that are hidden hazards to your hearing. Any sounds over 80 decibels can hurt your ears, while permanent loss of hearing can happen in swimming pools or other bodies of water. You have to take preventative measures and be aware of your surroundings in order to safeguard your hearing this summer. Here are six of the summer’s hidden hearing risks.
Wear Ear Protection at Concerts
Summer is concert time, but even if you go to an outdoor venue, you still need to protect your hearing. Live music can reach over 90 decibels, even at outdoor concerts, which is inside the danger zone of hearing loss. So regardless of whether you’re going to outside or inside concerts, it’s a practical idea to use earplugs. You can still hear the music with earplugs in it’s just dampened a little. If you’re going to a concert with young children, consider buying them a heavy duty pair of earmuffs since their hearing is much more delicate than those of adults.
Fireworks Are More Than Just Loud
Honestly, there are a lot of reasons to avoid fireworks in the summer. We’re not talking about the expert 4th of July fireworks show, we mean the backyard fireworks that bring about hundreds of injuries throughout the summer. On top of causing hand traumas, loss of vision, and home fires, backyard fireworks can also result in significant damage to your hearing since they are known to achieve decibel levels of 155. This 4th of July, leave the fireworks to the professionals and enjoy the show from a protected and sound distance.
Hearing Loss Can be Brought About by Lawnmowers
If you’re serious about your yard, most likely you’re out there every week on your mower, using your edger, and trimming your bushes. But that muffled sensation in your ears is an indication that your hearing has taken damage. That’s because the constant noise from your lawn tools have a slow and steady impact on your hearing. Maybe you’ve noticed landscapers wearing some kind of hearing protection, next time you work on your yard with loud power equipment, you should take a cue from them and wear earmuffs or earplugs.
How to Protect Your Ears When You’re at Pools And Beaches
Huge numbers of people suffer from swimmer’s ear every summer, which happens when the ear canal traps water which is high in bacteria. The bacteria will then infect the ear, causing painful earaches and swelling. It’s not just lakes and rivers that have these bacteria, they can also be found in pools and hot tubs if they are not cleaned and treated properly. As long as you have your ears treated by a hearing specialist you should be fine, and no permanent loss of hearing will happen. To protect against swimmer’s ear, however, you should wear specialized swimming earplugs in the pool and have your pool water analyzed to make certain the chemical balance is safe.
Water Sports And Boats
Summer is a taste of freedom for the people who enjoy being in a boat on the water, smelling the salt air of the ocean or the fresh breeze from the lake. But, jet ski and boat engines are often noisy,they can get up to over 100 decibels. Long term hearing injury can be the result after around 15 minutes of exposure to that kind of noise. Once more, it’s probably a smart decision to use a set of throw away, foam earplugs while you’re out on the water to make certain you don’t accidentally damage your hearing.
Your Hearing Can be Damaged by Car Races
It doesn’t matter what type of auto racing you like, motorcycle, midget, Formula 1, drag racing or stock cars. All of them can cause a huge challenge for your hearing if you go to race after race this summer season. It’s estimated that sound levels can go over 120 decibels at many races, which is definitely inside the danger zone for hearing impairment. Earplugs are your best friends at these races, while your children should definitely wear the earmuffs we mentioned earlier. Because you might not get to enjoy the sounds of any races in the future if you don’t.