Summertime has some activities that are just staples: Outdoor concerts, fireworks shows, state fairs, air shows, and NASCAR races (look, if you enjoy watching cars drive around in circles, no one’s going to judge you). The crowds, and the decibel levels, are getting larger as more of these events are going back to normal.
And that can be a problem. Because let’s be honest: this isn’t the first loud concert that’s left you with ringing ears. That ringing is something called tinnitus, and it could be a sign of something bad: hearing damage. And the more damage you experience, the more your hearing will decline.
But it’s ok. If you use effective hearing protection, all of this summer fun can be safely enjoyed.
How to know your hearing is hurting
So, you’re at the air show or enjoying yourself at an amazing concert, how much attention should you be paying to your ears?
Because, obviously, you’ll be pretty distracted.
Well, if you want to stop significant injury, you should be looking out for the following symptoms:
- Headache: If you have a headache, something is probably not right. This is definitely true when you’re trying to gauge injury to your hearing, too. A pounding headache can be triggered by overly loud volume. And that’s a strong indication that you should find a quieter setting.
- Tinnitus: This is a ringing or buzzing in your ears. It means your ears are taking damage. You shouldn’t necessarily dismiss tinnitus just because it’s a relatively common condition.
- Dizziness: Your sense of balance is largely controlled by your inner ear. Dizziness is another indication that damage has taken place, especially if it’s accompanied by a change in volume. So if you’re at one of these noisy events and you feel dizzy you may have injured your ears.
This list is not complete, of course. There are tiny hairs inside of your ears which are responsible for detecting vibrations in the air and excessively loud noises can harm these hairs. And when an injury to these fragile hairs occurs, they will never heal. That’s how fragile and specialized they are.
And the phrase “ow, my tiny ear hairs hurt” isn’t something you ever hear people say. So watching for secondary signs will be the only way you can know if you’re developing hearing loss.
It’s also possible for damage to occur with no symptoms whatsoever. Any exposure to loud noise will lead to damage. And the damage will worsen the longer the exposure continues.
When you do notice symptoms, what should I do?
You’re getting your best groove on (and everyone is loving it), but then, you start to feel dizzy and your ears start ringing. What should you do? How loud is too loud? Are you hanging too close to the speakers? How are you supposed to know how loud 100 decibels is?
Here are some options that have various degrees of effectiveness:
- You can leave the concert venue: Truthfully, this is likely your best possible solution if you’re looking to protect your hearing health. But it’s also the least fun solution. 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 consider leaving if your symptoms become significant.
- Keep a pair of cheap earplugs with you: Cheap earplugs are, well, cheap. For what they are, they’re moderately effective and are better than no protection. So there’s no excuse not to keep a pair with you. Now, if the volume begins to get a little too loud, you simply pull them out and pop them in.
- Try moving away from the source of the noise: If your ears start hurting, make sure you aren’t standing near the stage or a huge speaker! Essentially, move further away from the source of the noise. Perhaps that means giving up your front row NASCAR seats, but you can still enjoy the show and give your ears a necessary respite.
- Find the merch booth: Some venues sell disposable earplugs. Go to the merch booth for earplugs if you can’t find anything else. Your hearing health is important so the few dollars you pay will be well worth it.
- Cover your ears with, well, anything: The goal is to protect your ears when things are too loud. Try to use something around you to cover your ears if you don’t have earplugs and the high volume suddenly takes you by surprise. Even though it won’t be as efficient as approved hearing protection, something is better than nothing.
Are there more effective hearing protection methods?
So when you need to safeguard 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 every night, or you have season tickets to NASCAR or football games, or you work in your garage every evening repairing an old Corvette with loud power tools.
In these cases, you will want to take a few more significant steps to safeguard your hearing. Those measures could include the following:
- Professional or prescription level hearing protection is recommended This may 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 you need them.
- Get an app that monitors decibel levels: Most modern smartphones will be able to get an app that monitors the ambient noise. These apps will then alert you when the noise becomes dangerously high. In order to safeguard your ears, keep an eye on your volume monitor on your phone. Using this strategy, the exact volume level that can damage your ears will be obvious.
- Come in and see us: You need to identify where your present hearing levels are, so come in and let us help. And it will be a lot easier to detect and note any damage after a baseline is established. You will also get the added benefit of our personalized advice to help you keep your ears safe.
Have your cake and hear it, too
It may be a mixed metaphor but you get the point: you can safeguard your hearing and enjoy all these wonderful outdoor summer activities. You will enjoy those activities safely by taking a few simple steps. You need to take these steps even with headphones. Identifying how loud is too loud for headphones can help you make better choices about your hearing health.
Because if you really love going to see an airshow or a NASCAR race or an outdoor summer concert, chances are, you’re going to want to continue doing that in the future. Being smart now means you’ll be capable of hearing your favorite band years from now.
References
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_hearing_loss.html
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/decibel-levels