Protect Your Hearing During Noisy Summer Activities

Large summer concert crowd of people in front of a stage at night who should be concerned about hearing protection

Some activities are simply staples of summer: Outdoor concerts, fireworks shows, state fairs, air shows, and NASCAR races (look, if you enjoy watching cars drive around in circles, nobody’s going to judge you). The crowds, and the decibel levels, are growing as more of these activities are getting back to normal.

But sometimes this can bring about problems. Because let’s be honest: this isn’t the first loud concert that’s left you with ringing ears. This ringing, known as tinnitus, can be a sign that you’ve sustained hearing damage. And the more damage you do, the more your hearing will diminish.

But don’t worry. With the correct ear protection, you’ll be able to enjoy those summer activities (even NASCAR) without doing permanent damage to your ears.

How can you tell if your hearing is taking a beating?

So, you’re at the air show or enjoying an incredible concert, how much attention should you be paying to your ears?
Because, understandably, you’ll be fairly distracted.

You should watch for the following symptoms if you want to avoid severe damage:

  • Dizziness: Your sense of balance is generally controlled by your inner ear. Dizziness is another signal that damage has happened, especially if it’s accompanied by a spike in volume. So if you’re at one of these loud events and you feel dizzy you may have injured your ears.
  • Tinnitus: This is a ringing or buzzing in your ears. It’s a sign that damage is happening. Tinnitus is fairly common, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect it.
  • Headache: If you have a headache, something is probably wrong. This is certainly true when you’re attempting to gauge injury to your hearing, too. A pounding headache can be triggered by overly loud volume. And that’s a good indication that you should find a quieter environment.

This list is not exhaustive, of course. Loud noise causes hearing loss because the extra loud volume levels harm the tiny hairs in your ear responsible for sensing vibrations in the air. And once an injury to these delicate hairs occurs, they will never heal. They’re that specialized and that fragile.

And the phrase “ow, my tiny ear hairs hurt” isn’t something you ever hear anyone say. That’s why you need to look out for secondary signs.

You also could be developing hearing loss with no noticeable symptoms. Any exposure to loud noise will produce damage. And the damage will get worse the longer the exposure continues.

When you do notice symptoms, what should I do?

You’re rocking out just amazingly (everybody notices and is immediately entertained by how hard you rock, you’re the life of the party) when your ears start to ring, and you feel a little dizzy. How loud is too loud and what should you do? And are you in the danger zone? (How loud is 100 decibels, anyway?)

Well, you’ve got a few options, and they vary when it comes to how effective they’ll be:

  • Keep a pair of cheap earplugs with you: Cheap earplugs are, well, cheap. For what they are, they’re relatively effective and are better than nothing. So there’s no excuse not to keep a pair with you. This way, if things get a little too loud, you can simply pop these puppies in.
  • Find the merch booth: Disposable earplugs are available at some venues. So if you don’t have anything else, it’s worth checking out the merch booth or vendor area. Typically, you won’t have to pay more than a few bucks, and with regards to the health of your hearing, that’s a deal!
  • You can get out of the concert venue: Truthfully, this is most likely your best possible option if you’re looking to protect your hearing health. But it will also finish your fun. It would be understandable if you would rather stay and enjoy the concert utilizing a different way to safeguard your hearing. But you should still think about leaving if your symptoms become severe.
  • Use anything to block your ears: When things get noisy, the aim is to safeguard your ears. So if you don’t have any earplugs and the volume levels have taken you by surprise, consider using anything you can find to cover up and safeguard your ears. Although it won’t be as efficient as approved hearing protection, something is better than nothing.
  • Try moving away from the origin of the noise: If your ears begin to hurt, make sure you’re not standing next to the stage or a big speaker! Essentially, move further away from the origin of the noise. Maybe that means giving up your front row seats at NASCAR, but you can still enjoy the show and give your ears a necessary respite.

Are there any other methods that are more effective?

So, disposable earplugs will work when you’re mainly interested in safeguarding your hearing for a couple of hours at a show. But it’s a little different when you’re a music-lover, and you attend concerts nightly, or you have season tickets to NASCAR or football games, or you work in your garage every evening repairing an old Corvette with noisy power tools.

In these situations, you will want to take a few more significant steps to safeguard your hearing. Here are a few steps in that direction:

  • Wear professional or prescription level hearing protection. This may include custom earplugs or over-the-ear headphones. The better the fit, the better the protection. When you need them, you will have them with you and you can just put them in.
  • Get an app that monitors volume levels: Ambient noise is usually monitored by your smartphone automatically, but you can also get an app that can do that. When noise gets too loud, these apps will let you know. Keep an eye on your own portable volume meter to ensure you’re safeguarding your ears. This way, you’ll be capable of easily seeing what decibel level is loud enough to harm your ears.
  • Talk to us today: We can perform a hearing assessment so that you’ll know where your hearing levels are right now. And it will be a lot easier to recognize and note any damage once a baseline is established. Plus, we’ll have a lot of personalized tips for you, all tailored to protect your ears.

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 fabulous outdoor summer activities. You will enjoy those activities safely by taking a few simple measures. You need to take these measures even with headphones. Understanding how loud is too loud for headphones can help you make better decisions 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 as the years go on. Being sensible now means you’ll be able to hear 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

The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.