Finally, it’s summertime!!
This summer season offers 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 perhaps a great backyard get-together.
Loud noises can harm your hearing, even if you don’t feel like they’re that loud. So it’s important to take measures to protect your ears, particularly during the summer months when you’re more likely to experience loud noises.
One of the most important steps is using earplugs, especially under certain conditions.
Going for a swim
Even in clean pools, there can be bacteria and parasites that can trigger swimmer’s ear. You can stop infections by keeping water out of your ears and earplugs can help you do this.
Polluted water getting inside of your ears, while usually not a serious problem, can have some adverse repercussions. Short-term hearing loss, pain, and swelling can be the outcome.
Left unaddressed, infections can result in damage to the eardrum and the fragile inner workings of the ear.
It’s not possible to completely stay away from all pathogens in hot tubs or pools, but wearing swimming earplugs will help safeguard your ears.
Concerts and live performances
Summertime is the ideal time for a night of live music. But live concerts are typically really loud.
Depending on where you’re standing at the venue, you could be exposed to as many as 120 decibels (dB). That’s enough to cause immediate and lasting hearing loss.
Earplugs will block some of that sound but won’t distort it. Earplugs have an NRR rating with a range of 20 to 33, which determines the strength of the protection. 20dB of sound will be stopped by earplugs with a 20 NRR rating. So if you’re attending a concert with 120dB of sound, it will be reduced to 100dB.
But that amount of sound can still potentially harm your hearing.
The closer to the speaker you are, the higher NRR you’ll need to protect your ears and prevent permanent hearing damage. Even if you acquire the highest level of hearing protection, you will still be subjected to sounds loud enough to trigger irreversible hearing damage within 15 minutes. Use earplugs and stand well away from the speakers for best protection.
The same goes for indoor concerts, sporting events, plays, movies, cook-outs, celebrations, or other events where sounds are being boosted through speakers.
property maintenance
You do it every week, but the grass continues to grow. You routinely edge the flowerbeds and weed the steps to keep your yard from looking like a mess. Then you keep the long grass in check with a weed-whacker.
Your hearing will definitely be compromised by the loud volume of yard equipment. Earplugs will help decrease the noise from these tools and safeguard your hearing.
If you’re not wearing earplugs when you operate the mower, over time, you will be noticeably causing hearing loss.
Independence Day
They’re an essential part of Independence Day. On the 4th of July, we will all be celebrating our country’s independence. But there’s a negative side to fireworks. They can produce up to 175dB of noise. If you shot a gun right near your head it would be around this volume.
You’ll definitely want earplugs if you’re attending a large fireworks show. If you’re close to the action, the highest NRR rating is suggested. You’ll still be able to hear the fireworks and they’ll still be loud, but you’ll be safeguarding your ears from future hearing loss.
It’s important to safeguard your hearing
Don’t wait until your hearing loss is significant to seek help. Most people probably won’t even recognize that their hearing is slowly going until it’s too late, and unfortunately, there’s no cure. Get your hearing checked routinely by us to identify your risk level.
