September is the start of fall, which means beautiful leaves on the trees, sweater weather and the beginning of the holiday season. Unfortunately, fall also poses some risks to your hearing. We explore these risks and discuss how to prepare your hearing for fall below.
Noise Damage During Fall
During the fall season, there are many sounds that can damage the delicate cells within the inner ear. These cells are responsible for converting sound vibrations into electrical impulses that the brain interprets as sound. When these cells are damaged, the result is permanent sensorineural hearing loss.
Any sound over 85 decibels (dB) can cause this type of damage with enough exposure. This is about the volume of passing highway traffic.
Some fall activities that can damage your hearing include:
- Mowing the lawn: 90 dB
- Using a leaf blower: 95-115 dB
- Attending a football game in a stadium: 100-130 dB
- Enjoying an outdoor concert at The Chastain Park Ampitheatre: 120-140 dB
- Shooting a hunting rifle: 150 dB
If you’re partaking in these or any other noisy activities, make sure to wear hearing protection in the form of earplugs or earmuffs. Custom-molded hearing protection is available at Advanced Hearing. You can even invest in specialty hearing protection such as:
- Musician’s plugs reduce sound to a safe level without sacrificing the quality of the music.
- Hunter’s plugs allow ambient sounds but block harmful ones, like the sound of your shotgun firing.
Moisture Damage to Hearing Aids
During fall, you have to start thinking about how rain can cause moisture damage to your hearing aids.
To prevent this, be sure to wear a rain jacket with the hood up or use an umbrella during rainy weather.
If your hearing aids are exposed to moisture, right away you should:
- Switch off your hearing aid.
- Open the battery door and remove the battery. Dry it with a cloth.
- With the battery door still open, shake the hearing aid to remove as much water as possible.
- Place your hearing aid in a dehumidifier if you have one. Leave it there for 24 hours.
- If you don’t have a dehumidifier, you can place your hearing aid on some newspaper to dry.
For more information about protecting your hearing this fall or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call Advanced Hearing today.