One of the biggest risks to your hearing is loud noise. Research has shown that overexposure to noise at or above 85 dBA can cause permanent hearing loss.
The good news is that you can take several key steps to help protect your hearing this year and beyond.
How To Know If The Sound Is Too Loud?
You might assume that any noise that can cause hearing loss would have to be extremely loud. However, for reference, 85 decibels is roughly the equivalent of the volume of city traffic. Plenty of worksites and recreational activities reach that volume and above and therefore have the ability to damage your hearing, including:
- Rock concerts or other loud live performances
- Sporting events
- Shooting or hunting
- Riding motorcycles
- Auto races
- Mowing the lawn or leaf blowing
- Working at a construction site or other noisy environments
- Listening to music too loudly with headphones or earbuds
What Can I Do To Protect My Hearing From Loud Noise?
By taking the right precautions, you can help keep your ears safe while still enjoying activities like taking in a live show at The Admiral Theater.
- Wear hearing protection. Hearing protection comes in many forms. It can range from foam earplugs that can be found at most Nebraska drugstores to custom-made earmolds that conform to the specific shape of your ear and can help bring down the volume while still letting you enjoy the sounds you want or need to hear.
- Turn the volume down. Whether listening to music on your headphones or catching up on your favorite TV show at home, make sure you’re keeping the volume at a reasonable level. The sound should be loud enough that you don’t need to strain to hear but not so loud that you can hear it from other rooms in your home. Your smartphone may also have a health app that can track how loudly you’re listening to music or other media through your headphones and let you know if the volume is reaching a harmful level.
- Get a hearing test. A hearing test can benefit your ears in several ways. Even if you don’t have hearing loss, having a baseline test to compare to future results to can help monitor any changes and catch hearing loss earlier. If you do have hearing loss, it’s always best to treat it earlier to get the most from your hearing aids and hopefully help prevent further damage.
For more information on protecting your hearing, call Ear Specialists of Omaha & Bellevue today to schedule an appointment.