Summer is here!
This summer season has a lot of fun. But keep the health of your hearing in mind before you go out for a day on the beach, a rocking concert, or perhaps an enjoyable backyard get-together.
Loud noises can harm your hearing, even if you don’t think they’re that loud. So it’s essential to take measures to safeguard your ears, especially during the summer months when you’re more likely to experience loud noises.
Here are a few activities that are best enjoyed with earplugs.
Swimming
Bacteria and parasites love water and can even live in relatively clean pools potentially resulting in swimmer’s ear. You can stop infections by keeping water out of your ears and earplugs can help you do this.
While pool-borne sickness isn’t usually serious, contaminated water getting inside of your ear canal can have harmful effects. It can cause inflammation, pain, and even short-term hearing loss.
Left untreated, infections can lead to damage to the eardrum and the fragile inner workings of the ear.
It’s impossible to totally stay away from all pathogens in hot tubs or pools, but wearing swimming earplugs will help safeguard your ears.
Concerts and live performances
Summer is the perfect time for an evening of live music. But live concerts are usually very loud.
Depending on where you’re standing at the venue, you might be exposed to as much as 120dB of sound. That’s enough to trigger instant and permanent hearing loss.
Earplugs are fashioned to decrease sound, not distort it. The degree of sound that can be stopped by earplugs will be identified by an NRR rating of between 20 and 33. 20dB of sound will be blocked by earplugs with a 20 NRR rating. So a 120-dB concert will be lowered to around 100 dB.
However, that’s still a potentially damaging level.
The closer to the speaker you are, the higher NRR you’ll require to safeguard 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 permanent hearing damage within 15 minutes. Wear earplugs and stand at a distance from the speakers for optimum protection.
This doesn’t just apply to concerts, it’s also true for things like festivals, movies, plays, sporting events, and any other event where sound will be amplified through speakers.
property maintenance
You do it each week, but the grass keeps growing. You regularly edge the flowerbeds and weed the steps to keep your yard from looking messy. Then you use a weed-whacker to touch up around the trees.
Your hearing will certainly be damaged by the loud volume of yard equipment. The noise from this equipment can be decreased and your ears can be safeguarded by wearing earplugs.
If you aren’t using earplugs when you operate the mower, over time, you will be observably doing hearing loss.
Independence Day
They’re an essential aspect of Independence Day. On the 4th of July, we will all be celebrating our nation’s independence. But there’s a negative side to fireworks. The noise they make can exceed 175 dB. That’s as loud as a pistol being discharged right next to your head!
You’ll definitely want earplugs if you’re attending a big fireworks show. You should get the highest NRR rated earplugs, particularly if you’re close. You’ll protect your ears from damage and the fireworks will still be loud enough.
Protecting your hearing is important
Get help before your hearing loss becomes severe. Most individuals probably won’t even realize that their hearing is gradually going until it’s too late, and regrettably, it’s irreversible. Call us right away so we can help you identify any risks you might have.
