Some activities are simply staples of summer: Outdoor concerts, fireworks shows, state fairs, air shows, and NASCAR races (look, if you enjoy watching cars go around in circles, no one’s going to judge you). As more of these activities return to something like normal, the crowds, and the noise levels, are growing.
And that can be a problem. Let’s face it: you’ve had ringing in your ears after going to a concert before. That ringing is often called tinnitus, and it could be an indication of something bad: hearing damage. And the more damage you experience, the more your hearing will wane.
But it’s ok. With the correct ear protection, you’ll be able to enjoy those summer experiences (even NASCAR) without doing long-term damage to your ears.
How to know your hearing is hurting
So how much attention should you be putting on your ears when you’re at that concert or air show?
Because you’ll be rather distracted, naturally.
Well, if you want to avoid severe injury, you should be looking out for the following symptoms:
- Tinnitus: This is a buzzing or ringing in your ears. It’s an indication that damage is taking place. You shouldn’t necessarily ignore tinnitus just because it’s a relatively common condition.
- Headache: Generally speaking, a headache is a strong sign that something isn’t right. This is definitely true when you’re trying to gauge damage to your hearing, too. Excessive volume can trigger a pounding headache. If you find yourself in this situation, seek a less noisy setting.
- Dizziness: Your inner ear is primarily responsible for your ability to keep yourself balanced. So if you’re feeling dizzy at one of these loud events, particularly if that dizziness coincides with a charge of volume, this is another indication that damage has occurred.
This list is not exhaustive, obviously. Loud noise causes hearing loss because the excessively loud decibel levels damage the tiny hairs in your ear responsible for detecting vibrations in the air. And once these tiny hairs are damaged, they never heal or grow back. That’s how fragile and specialized they are.
And it isn’t like people say, “Ow, the little hairs in my ear hurt”. That’s why you have to look out for secondary signs.
You also may be developing hearing loss without any apparent symptoms. Any exposure to loud sound will lead to damage. And the damage will get worse the longer the exposure continues.
When you do notice symptoms, what should I do?
You’re getting your best groove on (and everybody is loving it), but then, you start to feel dizzy and your ears start ringing. What should you do? How many decibels is too loud? And are you in the danger zone? How are you supposed to know how loud 100 decibels is?
Well, you’ve got a few solutions, and they vary when it comes to how effective they’ll be:
- You can get out of the concert venue: If you really want to protect your ears, this is truthfully your best option. But it may also put an end to your fun. So if your symptoms are serious, think about leaving, but we understand if you’d rather pick a way to safeguard your hearing and enjoy the show.
- Bring cheap earplugs around with you: Cheap earplugs are, well, cheap. For what they are, they’re relatively effective and are better than no protection. So there’s no reason not to have a pair in your glove box, purse, or wherever else. This way, if things get a bit too loud, you can simply pop in these puppies.
- Cover your ears with, well, anything: When things get loud, the aim is to protect your ears. So if you don’t have any earplugs and the volume levels have caught you by surprise, consider using anything you can find to cover up and protect your ears. It won’t be the most effective way to limit the sound, but it will be better than no protection.
- Find the merch booth: Some venues will sell disposable earplugs. Check out the merch booth for earplugs if you can’t find anything else. Your hearing health is essential so the few dollars you pay will be well worth it.
- Try moving away from the origin of the noise: If you detect any pain in your ears, back away from the speakers. To put it bluntly, move further away from the source of the noise. You can give your ears a rest while still enjoying yourself, but you may have to let go of your front row NASCAR seats.
Are there more effective hearing protection strategies?
So when you need to safeguard your ears for a short time at a concert, disposable earplugs will do. But it’s a little different when you’re a music-lover, and you go to concerts every night, or you have season tickets to NASCAR or football games, or you work in your garage every night restoring an old Corvette with noisy power tools.
In these cases, you will want to take a few more serious steps to protect your hearing. Here are a few steps in that direction:
- Come in and see us: You need to recognize where your current hearing levels are, so come in and let us help. And it will be much easier to detect and record any damage once a baseline is established. You will also get the added advantage of our individualized advice to help you keep your hearing safe.
- Wear professional or prescription level hearing protection. This could include custom earplugs or over-the-ear headphones. The better the fit, the better the hearing protection. When you need them, you will have them with you and you can simply put them in.
- Use a volume monitoring app: Ambient noise is normally monitored by your smartphone automatically, but you can also get an app that can do that. When noise becomes too loud, these apps will let you know. In order to protect your ears, keep an eye on your volume monitor on your phone. Using this strategy, the exact decibel level that can harm your ears will be obvious.
Have your cake and hear it, too
It may be a mixed metaphor but you get the point: you can protect your hearing and enjoy all these fabulous outdoor summer activities. You just have to take steps to enjoy these activities safely. You need to take these measures even with headphones. Understanding how loud is too loud for headphones can help you make better choices about your hearing health.
As the years go on, you will probably want to keep doing all of your favorite outdoor summer activities. Being sensible now means you’ll be capable of hearing your favorite band decades from now.
References
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_hearing_loss.html
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/decibel-levels
