Hearing protection tips for summer activities

Most people do not consider to protect their hearing from permanent damage during the festival season. However, irreversible hearing loss can occur when listening to loud music, especially if a person is exposed to it over a longer period of time. Hearing aid manufacturer, Oticon, has created a number of tips on how to protect our hearing and when to seek help.

With the weather getting brighter and the sun staying in the sky for longer, it is time for outdoor parties, long nights and loud music. This means that the festival season is upon us as well. However, most people forget that loud music can cause permanent hearing damage such as, tinnitus, hearing loss or hypersensitive hearing.

“Each year, festivals and loud music damage many ears. I will guess, that quite a few of the audiences to a concert have a hearing impairment. Each individual is different and so the time they can be exposed to a loud noise before it is damaging to their hearing can vary – but as a general guideline, if you experience distorted sound or even ringing in the ears you should consider leaving the concert or wearing earplugs,” says Thomas Behrens, Head of Audiology and Centre for Applied Audiology Research, Oticon A/S.

“When music reaches a certain level, it can cause damage to the nerve pathways in the inner ear. If this happens often, the body will not be able to repair the damaged caused by noise stress. The damage caused by noise can be very difficult to treat, with tinnitus and hypersensitive hearing being just two examples.  Hearing loss caused by noise is the only type of hearing loss we can prevent and we should therefore try to do something about it,” Thomas Behrens continued.

Take the right precautions

The louder the music, the shorter amount of time it takes before hearing damage occurs. In recent years, many festivals have introduced an upper noise level. One example is Roskilde Festival, the international music festival held in Denmark, which has 103 dB on average. However, during concerts, the noise level can be much higher than that. Any sound at a level of 125 dB or higher is very painful and can cause damage to the ears.

“Even though the noise level at festivals can be damaging, people still enjoy attending. The most important thing is to take the right precautions. These can all sound very obvious but people often forget them,” says Thomas Behrens.

“A good idea is to ensure vulnerable ears are protected by wearing ear plugs  at  all concerts, especially for  children. Also avoid standing next to the speakers and take breaks during concerts. Furthermore, if you regularly attend loud events, it can be good to download apps that measure the approximate noise levels in an environment – that way you have an idea about the level of noise during a festival”.

Tips to protect your hearing before, during and after concerts

Three tips during a concert

• Wear earplugs – and remember they only work if properly fitted in the ear canal.
• Use ear defenders for kids as it can be hard to properly fit the ear plugs.
• Keep a distance to the big loudspeakers.
• Use an app to measure the sound level.

After a festival, you may well experience ringing in the ears or that you don’t hear well. This is a natural reaction to too much music and loud noise levels. If you still experience these symptoms one day after the concert, we recommend you contact an ENT doctor or a hearing  care specialist to discuss your concerns so they can act accordingly.

-ENDS-

 

About Oticon

500 million people worldwide suffer from hearing loss. The majority are over the age of 50 while eight percent are under the age of 18. It is Oticon’s ambition that our customers – hearing clinics throughout the world – prefer to use our products for people with impaired hearing. Through passion, dedication and professional expertise, Oticon develops and manufactures hearing aids for both adults and children. Oticon supports every kind of hearing loss from mild to severe and we pride ourselves on developing some of the most innovative hearing aids in the market. Headquartered out of Denmark, we are a global company and part of William Demant Holding Group with more than 12,000 employees and revenues of over DKK 12 billion. www.oticon.global

 

Contact:

Michelle Cross

The PR Room

Email: michelle.cross@theprroom.co.uk