Finally, it’s summertime!!
This summer season has tons of fun. But keep the health of your hearing in mind before you head out for a day on the beach, a rocking concert, or maybe an enjoyable backyard get-together.
Loud noises can harm your hearing, even if you don’t feel like they’re very loud. In the summer you’re a lot more likely to be exposed to loud sounds, so it’s very important to take the appropriate steps to safeguard your hearing.
Here are several activities that are best experienced with earplugs.
Swimming
Even in clean pools, there can be bacteria and parasites that can trigger swimmer’s ear. You can prevent infections by keeping water out of your ears and earplugs can help you do this.
Contaminated water getting inside of your ears, while usually not a serious problem, can have some unwanted repercussions. Temporary hearing loss, pain, and inflammation can be the result.
Left untreated, infections can result in damage to the eardrum and the fragile inner workings of the ear.
It’s not possible to completely avoid all pathogens in pools or hot tubs, but wearing swimming earplugs will help safeguard your ears.
Live performances and concerts
Going to a concert is always fun, particularly in the summer months. But live concerts are usually really loud.
Depending on where you’re standing at the venue, you may be exposed to as many as 120 decibels (dB). These volume levels can immediately trigger hearing loss that can be permanent.
Earplugs are fashioned to reduce sound, not distort it. The amount of sound that can be stopped by earplugs will be established by an NRR rating of between 20 and 33. 20dB of sound will be stopped by earplugs with a 20 NRR rating. So a 120-dB concert will be reduced to around 100 dB.
But that amount of sound can still potentially harm your hearing.
The closer you are to a speaker, the higher NRR you’ll need to protect your ears and prevent irreversible hearing damage. Within 15 minutes, you can experience irreversible hearing damage even if you use the highest level of protection. Use earplugs and stand at a distance from the speakers for best protection.
The same goes for indoor concerts, sporting events, plays, movies, cook-outs, festivals, or other events where sounds are being amplified through speakers.
Yard work
You do it each week, but the grass continues to grow. You take measures such as edging flower beds and weeding the gardens so your yard looks great. Then you keep the long grass under control with a weed-whacker.
Power equipment and other yard equipment can be very loud, and prolonged exposure can and will damage your hearing. The noise from this equipment can be decreased and your ears can be protected by wearing earplugs.
If you’re mowing the lawn without earplugs, you’re slowly damaging your hearing and it will become more evident over time.
Independence Day
They’re a key aspect of Independence Day. When July comes around, it’s time to celebrate the birth of our nation. But fireworks have a dark side. The noise they produce can be in excess of 175 dB. If you fired a gun right next to your head it would be around this volume.
You’ll absolutely want earplugs if you’re attending a large fireworks show. You should acquire the highest NRR rated earplugs, especially if you’re close. You’ll protect your ears from damage and the fireworks will still be loud enough.
It’s important to protect your ears
Get help before your hearing loss becomes profound. Hearing loss caused by loud noise can’t be corrected and since it happens so gradually, most people don’t recognize they’re damaging their hearing. Have your hearing assessed routinely by us to determine your risk level.