Today I would like to discuss the importance of having your hearing tested if you are consistently in environmently noisy situations. Many people do not realize that many of the environments we may go to can have damaging effects on our hearing if we do not protect ourselves from prolonged exposure to them. For example, loud rock concerts can produce sound levels of 115 decibels. According to Mid-States Laboratories," the maximum exposure without ear protection would be only 15 minutes. After that damage may occur, and consistent exposure at high levels over an extended period of time, sensorineural hearing loss(nerve loss) can result."
Many people will ask," How do I know if it is that loud?". Here are some signs to look for. Are you experiencing ringing in the ears? Do you notice a temporary loss of hearing after noise exposure? Do you find that you have to shout over any noise that is being heard at the event? These may indicate a potentially harmful noise level. Some examples of activities that often produce high noise levels are: manufacturing, sporting events, concerts. The good news is that there are products available to help you protect your hearing in these types of situations. Having your hearing tested if you are consistently in these types of noisy situations is a good recommendation.