We’ve been getting excited about summer activities all year: swimming in the pool, going to the beach, and other activities that might harm your hearing. That’s right, summer holds a lot of unseen hazards to your ears, either from loud sounds or the environmental scenarios you may find yourself in. Any sounds over 80 decibels could injure your ears, while swimming in pools or other bodies of water can bring about lasting hearing loss. To keep your ears safe and sound this summer, you have to be conscious of your environment and take precautions. Here are 6 of the summer’s hidden hearing dangers.
When You Travel to Concerts, Put on Ear Protection
The summer season is concert season, but even if attend an outdoor venue, you still should protect your hearing. Live music can reach that are over 90 decibels, even at outside shows, which is inside the danger zone of hearing loss. That’s why it’s definitely a smart plan to use earplugs regardless of whether you’re seeing a concert indoors or outdoors. You can still hear the tunes with earplugs it’s just dampened a little. If you’re going to a performance with young kids, think about buying them a heavy duty pair of earmuffs because kids have more sensitive hearing than adults.
It’s More Than Just Loud at Fireworks
Honestly, there are a lot of reasons to avoid fireworks in the summer. This is not about the professional 4th of July fireworks show, we mean the backyard fireworks which every summer season cause many of incidents. As well as causing hand traumas, loss of sight, and home fires, backyard fireworks can also cause serious harm to your ears since they’re known to achieve volume levels of 155 dB. This 4th of July, leave the fireworks to the professionals and enjoy the show from a protected and sound distance.
Loss of Hearing Can be Caused by Lawnmowers
If you love to take care of your yard, your edger, trimmer, and mower are your best friends. But have you ever noticed how off your ears feel after you finish, how everything sounds muffled or your ears are ringing? That’s because the constant noise from your lawn tools impact your hearing over time. If you’ve ever seen lawn care pro’s, it is likely you have noticed them wearing hearing protection, next time you work on your yard with loud power equipment, you should take a hint from them and wear earmuffs or earplugs.
Pools And Beaches, What You Should do to Protect Your Ears
Huge numbers of people suffer from swimmer’s ear each summer, which occurs when bacteria-packed water gets trapped in your ear canal. Painful earaches and swelling are the result when the ear gets infected by the bacteria. These bacteria are usually found in lakes and rivers but could also live in pools and hot tubs if the water is not thoroughly managed. No permanent damage should occur if you have your hearing examined by a hearing specialist. To protect against swimmer’s ear, however, you should wear specialized swimming earplugs in the pool and have your pool water analyzed to make sure the chemical balance is ok.
Water Sports And Boats
The summer season is a taste of freedom for the people who love to be out on the water, taking in the fresh lake breeze or the salty air of the ocean. But, jet ski and boat engines can be loud,we’re talking more than 100 decibels. Continual subjection to that much noise for about 15 minutes can cause long-term hearing damage. Once again, it’s probably a smart decision to use a couple of throw away, foam earplugs when you’re out on the water to make certain you don’t unintentionally damage your ears.
Your Hearing Can be Injured by Car Races
It doesn’t make a difference what kind of auto racing you love, motorcycle, midget, Formula 1, drag racing or stock cars. All of them can cause a huge challenge for your hearing if you go to many races this summer season. It’s calculated that volume levels can go beyond 120 decibels at some races, which is absolutely inside the danger zone for hearing impairment. As pointed out earlier, your kids should use muffs whereas you should wear earplugs at least. Because you may not get to appreciate the sounds of any races in the future if you don’t.