Boom, Bang, Pow!

When you think about July, what comes to mind first? I am sure many of us think of family reunions, the 4th of July fireworks or outdoor concerts. With summer in full swing, it’s easy to find ourselves in louder than usual environments. It’s even easier to forget how these louder environments can impact our overall hearing.

Noise induced hearing loss is an ever growing problem, especially for our youth. An estimated 29 million, this is a combination of youth and adults, have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive exposure to noise.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 2.6 million children and adolescents aged 6-19 years and 26 million adults aged 20-69 suffer from noise induced hearing loss. 1 If you experience ringing in your ears or temporary hearing loss after you leave the workplace (or any other noisy place) noise exposure may be an issue and you could eventually experience permanent hearing damage. Exposure to excessive noises such as construction equipment, firearms, and music can cause permanent hearing loss, so what can you do to protect it?

There are many different types of hearing protection depending on your preference. Foam inserts offer a range of Noise Reduction Ratings (NRR) between 22 dB and 33 dB and earmuffs offer NRRs between 20 and 30 dB. It is important to keep in mind that the NRR does NOT mean that you are getting that decibel of attenuation.

In order to know the approximate attenuation you receive from hearing protection you subtract 7 from the NRR and then divide by 2.

For example, if you are wearing protection with a NRR of 31:

(31-7)/2=12

Therefore, if you were at a concert where the music is at a level of 110 dB and you were wearing earplugs with an NRR of 31 dB, your actual attenuation would be 12 dB and your exposure level would be taken down from 110 dB to 98 dB.

With the Fourth of July holiday approaching you may be wondering if you need hearing protection while you are enjoying the fireworks display. Fireworks produce a sound between 150 and 175 dB. Whether or not the fireworks will cause permanent damage to your hearing depends on how loud the actual explosion is and how far away from the firework you are. If the firework is 170 dB, adults need to be at least 50-65 feet away and children need to be about 200 feet away. If you find yourself any closer than this or if you are unsure, you should use hearing protection.

Custom hearing protection is also available. Rather than foam plugs or earmuffs, custom hearing protection is designed for you based on your ear anatomy. A cast of your ear is taken and sent to the manufacturer and a plug is created specifically for you. Musician’s plugs are also available. Musician’s plugs have a specific filter in them that offers attenuation of the sound while maintaining the clarity and definition of the music. Contact your local Hearing HealthCare Centers office to learn more about custom products!

It is extremely important to protect your hearing because once damage is done, it is irreversible. Hearing loss usually happens slowly and progressively over time so most people don’t realize that it is happening. If you are concerned that you may have hearing loss or are exposed to loud noise at work, it’s important to have your hearing checked.

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hearingloss/noise.html#:~:text=An%20estimated%2012.5%25%20of%20children,from%20excessive%20exposure%20to%20noise.
https://www.coopersafety.com/earplugs-noise-reduction
https://www.boystownhospital.org/knowledge-center/fireworks-hearing-loss

Wondering how you can protect yourself from noise induced hearing loss?

- Stay away from loud or prolonged noise when you can.

The louder the sound, the less amount of time you should spend near it without some form of hearing protection,

- Get regular hearing screenings if you're in a high-risk group.

High risk groups include: musicians, landscapers, framers, construction workers and more!

- Wear hearing protection.
As Dr. Lilly mentioned, there are many different forms of hearing protection- be sure if find what works best for you! If you are interested in custom protection, schedule an appointment below.

Are you interested in getting custom hearing protection?

Click the link below to schedule an appointment for hearing protection with just 3 easy steps!

1. Click the schedule now button
2. Choose your preferred clinic
3. Then choose the appointment called hearing protection! We are offering 10% off custom hearing protection for anyone who schedules online.

There are many different styles of hearing protection. Here are some!

Swim Plugs
Musician Plugs
High Frequency Plugs- great for noisy environments!
Sleeping Plugs
and more!

The process is easy and painless! Below is a breakdown of what we will do.