Summer is finally here, and it’s time for all that fun we’ve been looking forward to: going to the beach, chilling out by the pool, and impaired hearing? That’s right, summer holds a lot of hidden dangers to your ears, either from loud sounds or the external situations you may find yourself in. Any noises above 80 decibels can hurt your hearing, while swimming in pools or other bodies of water can result in permanent loss of hearing. To keep your ears safeguarded this summer, you need to be conscious of your surroundings and take preventative measures. Here are six of the summer’s concealed hearing dangers.
Use Hearing Protection at Concerts
The summer season is concert season, but even if attend a venue, you still should take care of your ears. 90 decibels is inside the danger zone for hearing injury and live music reaches this level even at outdoor venues. So whether you’re going to inside or outside concerts, it’s a practical idea to use earplugs. Earplugs reduce the sound while still permitting you to hear and get into the music. If you’re going to a show with young kids, consider buying them a heavy duty set of earmuffs because children have more delicate hearing than adults.
It’s More Than Just Loud at Fireworks
Honestly, there are a lot of reasons to avoid fireworks in the summer. It’s not only the 4th of July shows which are professional that can harm your hearing, we mean the backyard fireworks which every summertime cause hundreds of incidents. Home fireworks reach volume levels of over 155 which can injure your ears along with causing hand problems, blindness and home fires. This 4th of July, leave the fireworks to the pros and enjoy the show from a safe and sound distance.
Lawnmowers Can Cause Hearing Loss
If you love to take care of your yard, mower, edger, and trimer are your best friends. But the muffled feeling in your ears is an indication that your hearing has taken damage. That’s because the lawn tools, which are constantly loud, impact your hearing over time. If you’ve ever observed lawn care pro’s, you probably have noticed them using hearing protection, next time you work on your yard with loud power equipment, you should take a cue from them and use earmuffs or earplugs.
Beaches And Pools, What You Should do to Protect Your Hearing
Huge numbers of people suffer from swimmer’s ear every summer, which occurs when the ear canal traps water which has to much bacteria. Painful earaches and swelling are the result when the bacteria infects the ear. These bacteria are commonly found in rivers and lakes but could also live in pools and hot tubs if the water is not correctly treated. No permanent injury should take place if you have your ears examined by a hearing specialist. To be safe, when swimming in your pool, use specialized swimmers earplugs and keep the chemical balance correct to minimize the chance of getting swimmers ear.
Water Sports And Boats
Summertime is a breath of freedom for the people who love to be in a boat on the water, smelling the salt air from the ocean or the fresh breeze from the lake. But, boat and jet ski engines are usually noisy,we’re talking more than 100 decibels. Continual subjection to that kind of noise for around 15 minutes can cause permanent hearing damage. In this case also, using a pair of throw away foam earplugs is a smart idea.
Your Ears Can be Harmed by Car Races
It doesn’t matter what type of auto racing you like, stock cars, midgets, motorcycles, drag racing, Formula 1. If you attend many auto-races this year, they all pose a peril. 120 dB is well within the danger zone for hearing impairment and many races go well above this. Earplugs are your best bet at these races, whereas your kids should probably use the earmuffs we mentioned earlier. If not, you may not get to enjoy the sound of those engines as you get older.