Fourth of July means fireworks! I don't want to rain on your parade (since the Fourth is often celebrated with parades, too), but the loud pops and bangs of fireworks can cause serious hearing damage. When the delicate structures in your ear called hair cells — sensory cells located in your inner ears responsible for converting sound energy into electrical signals — are damaged, they never regenerate and cannot be repaired. This condition is known as noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The loss is permanent and may cause impaired hearing or total loss of hearing down the road. NIHL can be cause by one exposure to a loud noise such as an explosion, or by regular exposure over an extended period of time. If you continuously experience sounds over 85 decibels then a hearing aid may be in your future. Check out how some common sounds compare: Rustling leaves: 10 dB A whisper: 20 dB Humming of a fridge: 40 dB A conversation: 60 dB Busy street traffic: 70 dB Vacuum cleaner: 80 dB Lawn mower: 90 dB A large orchestra: 98 dB To see how fireworks compare read more ...
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Fourth of July means fireworks! I don't want to rain on your parade (since the Fourth is often celebrated with parades, too), but the loud pops and bangs of fireworks can cause serious hearing damage. When the delicate structures in your ear called hair cells — sensory cells located in your inner ears responsible for converting sound energy into electrical signals — are damaged, they never regenerate and cannot be repaired. This condition is known as noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The loss is permanent and may cause impaired hearing or total loss of hearing down the road. NIHL can be cause by one exposure to a loud noise such as an explosion, or by regular exposure over an extended period of time. If you continuously experience sounds over 85 decibels then a hearing aid may be in your future. Check out how some common sounds compare: Rustling leaves: 10 dB A whisper: 20 dB Humming of a fridge: 40 dB A conversation: 60 dB Busy street traffic: 70 dB Vacuum cleaner: 80 dB Lawn mower: 90 dB A large orchestra: 98 dB To see how fireworks compare read more ...