Many people who work in hazardously noisy environments are taking measures to protect their hearing – using earplugs or headphones. Some of those same people so concerned about hearing health on the job, however, are not protecting their hearing while they are at play. Noise is noise. Your vulnerable hearing system can’t tell and doesn’t care whether the decibels come from work or play – from heavy machinery or from a monster truck. The risk of damage to your hearing from excessive noise from any source is very real, but fortunately, can be managed.
How loud is too loud?
How much damage noise can do to the ear depends on how loud it is and how long you are exposed to it. Higher levels of noise can hurt hearing in short periods of time but even less intense noises can pose a risk if exposure continues over a long period of time. Most experts agree that exposure to 85 decibels (dB) or more for extended periods of time increases the risk of hearing loss. A common rule of thumb is that if noise levels are loud enough that you must raise your voice to be heard by someone about arm’s length away, sound is likely approaching the 85-dB level and prolonged exposure carries the risk of damage. Your hearing can also be damaged by single sound events. The extreme sound pressure generated by guns or fireworks, for example, can cause immediate damage to hearing.
In addition to hearing loss, noise exposure can result in tinnitus, a ringing or rushing sound in the ears. In many cases, tinnitus can become constant and chronic even after the noise exposure is ended.
It’s all fun and games until someone loses his hearing.
Many kinds of recreational activity have some risk of hazardous noise. Sports involving guns or operating loud engines are most detrimental to the unprotected sportsman but even spectators are at risk of toxic noise exposure in some sports.
There is a significant risk of hearing loss with the recreational use of firearms. Sound-pressure levels from guns can reach as high as 160 dB, putting the ear in jeopardy in even a single unprotected exposure. Because of the dynamics of loudness and duration, target and skeet shooters are at greater risk of hearing loss than hunters who typically fire fewer rounds.
Far from being a nuisance, hearing protection while shooting can actually improve a gunman’s performance. Experienced shooters report less “flinch” at the discharge of the firearm, improving aim and accuracy, while wearing hearing protection.
However, hunters often rely on their sense of hearing to detect game in the field and hearing protection can interfere with that essential sense. One resolution to this problem is the use of sound restoration hearing protectors, such as the Bilsom 727, Peltor Tactical 7, Pro Ears and others. These earmuffs have built-in electronics that pick up and amplify relatively quiet outside sounds while protecting against the impulsive noise generated by gunfire. Many hunters report good success with these devices, as they allow better detection of game in the field while protecting against the auditory hazards of gunfire.
Motor sports often rev up noise levels and a risk of hearing loss for spectators as well as participants. Stock car racing, drag racing, snowmobiles, motorcycles and more can generate hazardous levels of noise.
The New York League for the Hard of Hearing reports noise levels from stock car racing up to 130 dB, while a study published in the August 2005 Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene reported sound levels in the pits greater than 100 dB. In a 1998 study of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), spectator noise levels greater than 95 dB and levels at some points exceeding 125 dB were the average at a monster truck rally. Drag races, snowmobile operation and motorcycling all contain risk of similar noise levels. Hearing protection is an important part of the safety equipment that should be standard when participating in these kinds of activities.
One gadget that manages motor noise for stock car spectators is a trackside scanner with built-in hearing protection that lets the spectator tune into the radio communications of a favorite driver. Earplugs also help; hearing protection of some kind is crucial for those who participate in or attend stock car races.
Stock car races and monster truck rallies aren’t the only hearing-hazardous spectator sports. Season tickets to a stadium sport can take a toll on hearing, too. An industrial hygienist attending a St. Louis Rams playoff game in 2000 measured average sound levels in the stands at about 95 decibels, with some peak sound levels exceeding 135 decibels. Players even train for noise as a factor in their performance. Some football teams, for example, train using PA systems and loudspeakers to get used to the extreme noise levels in stadiums.
While physical exercise is mostly good for you, a noisy exercise routine may be undermining your hearing health. The music played to “pump you up” has been documented at dangerous levels in many gyms, leading to lawsuits and proposed regulation in some areas.
Even when you set the volumes, like with personal entertainment devices such as MP3 players, it is tempting to drown out the muscle pain of exercise with your favorite tunes cranked hazardously high. Most of these devices are capable of producing sound levels that can damage your hearing.
Putting Protection into Play
Here are a couple of simple ways short of a hearing test to determine if the recreational noise to which you are exposed is risky:
After noise exposure, do you notice tinnitus or ringing in your ears? That may be nature’s way of telling you that the noise was too loud.
Do things sound muffled or indistinct after noise exposure? Do you have to turn up the radio in your car for it to be clear after leaving a noisy environment or activity? In most situations, noise exposure causes a temporary hearing loss before the damage becomes permanent.
Regardless of past exposure, starting to use hearing protection measures and devices against noise will prevent further unnecessary damage. The simplest form of protection if you’re in control of the volume is to turn it down. The most convenient and economical form of protection for when you can’t control the volume, like in a stadium or the stands of a stock car race, is foam earplugs. For the sportsperson who is at the source of the noise, earmuffs are recommended. If they are positioned properly, you should hear a big difference between having them on and off the ear, trying one ear at a time.
With a little thought, preparation and the appropriate protective equipment, hearing loss does not need to be a part of your game.
