Summertime has some activities that are just staples: Outdoor concerts, fireworks shows, state fairs, air shows, and NASCAR races (look, if you like watching cars drive around in circles, no one’s going to judge you). As more of these activities return to something resembling normal, the crowds, and the decibel levels, are getting larger.
And that can be an issue. Because let’s be honest: this isn’t the first outdoor concert that’s caused your ears to ring. That ringing is often called tinnitus, and it could be an indication of something bad: hearing damage. And as you continue to expose your ears to these loud noises, you continue to do additional permanent damage to your hearing.
But it’s ok. With the correct hearing protection, you’ll be able to enjoy those summer activities (even NASCAR) without doing long-term damage to your ears.
How can you know if your hearing is taking a beating?
So how much attention should you be putting on your ears when you’re at that concert or air show?
Because you’ll be fairly distracted, understandably.
You should watch out for the following symptoms if you want to prevent serious injury:
- Dizziness: Your sense of balance is largely controlled by your inner ear. Dizziness is another signal that damage has occurred, especially if it’s accompanied by a change in volume. So if you’re at one of these loud events and you feel dizzy you may have injured your ears.
- Headache: If you have a headache, something is probably wrong. And when you’re trying to gauge hearing damage this is even more pertinent. A pounding headache can be triggered by overly loud volume. And that’s a strong indication that you should seek a quieter setting.
- Tinnitus: This is a buzzing or ringing in your ears. It’s an indication that damage is happening. Tinnitus is pretty common, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect it.
This list is not complete, of course. Loud noise leads to hearing loss because the extra loud decibel levels harm the tiny hairs in your ear responsible for detecting vibrations in the air. And once an injury to these fragile hairs occurs, they will never heal. They’re that specialized and that delicate.
And the phrase “ow, my little ear hairs hurt” isn’t something you ever hear anyone say. So looking out for secondary symptoms will be the only way you can know if you’re developing hearing loss.
It’s also possible for damage to happen with no symptoms whatsoever. Any exposure to loud sound will produce damage. And the damage will worsen the longer the exposure continues.
When you do detect symptoms, what should I do?
You’re rocking out just amazingly (everyone sees and is immediately entertained by how hard you rock, you’re the life of the party) when your ears start to ring, and you feel a bit dizzy. How loud is too loud and what should you do? And are you in a dangerous spot? (How loud is 100 decibels, anyway?)
Here are some options that have different degrees of effectiveness:
- You can get out of the concert venue: If you actually want to safeguard your ears, this is truthfully your best option. But it’s also the least enjoyable option. It would be understandable if you would rather stay and enjoy the show using a different way to protect your hearing. But you should still think about getting out if your symptoms become severe.
- Find the merch booth: Some venues will sell disposable earplugs. So if you can’t find anything else, it’s worth trying the merch booth or vendor area. Usually, you won’t need to pay more than a few bucks, and with regards to the health of your hearing, that’s a bargain!
- Bring cheap earplugs wherever you go: Cheap earplugs are, well, cheap. For what they are, they’re relatively effective and are better than no protection. So there’s no reason not to keep a pair with you. This way, if things get a bit too loud, you can simply pop in these puppies.
- Put a little distance between you and the source of noise: If your ears begin to hurt, be sure you aren’t standing near the stage or a huge speaker! To put it bluntly, distance yourself from the origin of the noise. Maybe that means giving up your front row NASCAR seats, but you can still enjoy the show and give your ears a needed respite.
- Cover your ears with, well, anything: The goal is to safeguard your ears when things are loudest. Try using something near you to cover your ears if you don’t have earplugs and the high volume suddenly takes you by surprise. Although it won’t be as efficient as approved hearing protection, something is better than nothing.
Are there any other methods that are more effective?
So when you need to protect your ears for a short time period at a concert, disposable earplugs will be fine. But it’s a bit different when you’re a music-lover, and you attend concerts nightly, or you have season tickets to NASCAR or football games, or you work in your garage every night restoring an old Corvette with loud power tools.
In these cases, you will want to take a few more profound steps to safeguard your hearing. Those steps could include the following:
- Use a decibel monitoring app: Most modern smartphones will be able to download an app that monitors the ambient noise. These apps will then alert you when the noise becomes dangerously high. In order to protect your ears, keep an eye on your decibel monitor on your phone. This way, you’ll be capable of easily seeing what decibel level is loud enough to harm your ears.
- Talk to us today: You need to know where your present hearing levels are, so come in and let us help. And once you have a recorded baseline, it will be easier to notice and note any damage. You will also get the added benefit of our personalized advice to help you keep your hearing safe.
- Professional or prescription level hearing protection is encouraged This could include personalized earplugs or over-the-ear headphones. The degree of protection increases with a better fit. You can always take these with you and put them in when the need arises.
Have your cake and hear it, too
Okay, it’s a bit of a mixed metaphor, but the point holds: you can protect your hearing and enjoy all these fabulous outdoor summer activities. You just have to take measures to enjoy these activities safely. You need to take these steps even with headphones. You will be able to make better hearing choices when you recognize how loud is too loud for headphones.
As the years go on, you will probably want to continue doing all of your favorite outdoor summer activities. Being smart now means you’ll be capable of hearing your favorite band decades from now.
References
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_hearing_loss.html
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/decibel-levels
