National Protect Your Hearing Month

Hearing protection is for everyone. There is no cure for hearing loss! The good news? You can prevent hearing loss by protecting your hearing.

When possible, avoid loud noises and dial down the level on personal listening devices. If you can’t avoid loud noises, protect your ears with earplugs or earmuffs.

If you suspect you may already have hearing loss, take steps to keep it from getting worse by getting your hearing checked.

Hearing Aid Source supports National Protect Your Hearing Month!It is an annual event held in October to promote awareness of hearing and speech difficulties, urging people to think about their own hearing and to have their hearing examined if they suspect there is a problem.

It is critical to detect and treat hearing loss as soon as possible. Many people have undiagnosed hearing loss and are unaware that they are missing particular sounds and phrases. The first step in resolving the problem would be to check one’s hearing.

Do you use your music, your show, or a podcast to shut out the noise around you? Be cautious; hearing loss is real. A volume that lets you hear someone a few feet away is a safer way to go.

Did You Know?

Repeated exposure to loud noise over the years can damage your hearing — long after exposure has stopped.
This is just one of the many informative facts available on CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health’s new hearing loss website.

Do you believe you know how to protect yourself? We can all think of the typical suspects when it comes to hearing loss: attending athletic events, entertainment places, and loud concerts. Volume isn’t the only thing to think about. Noise exposure builds up over time. Reduce the length of headphone use at home, school, and when commuting to practice safe listening.

Everyday activities such as using power tools, mowing the lawn, or attending a fitness or gym class with loud music can damage hearing.

Useful Info

Is the noise too loud? If you need to shout to make yourself heard, yes.

• Ways to protect your hearing include turning the volume down, taking periodic breaks from the noise, and using hearing protection, such as earplugs and hearing protection earmuffs.
• Signs that you may have hearing loss include difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds (e.g., doorbell, telephone, alarm clock) and difficulty understanding conversations in a noisy place.

By the Numbers

The volume of sound is measured in decibels (dB). A whisper is around 30 decibels (dB), a regular conversation is approximately 60 decibels (dB), and a motorbike engine is approximately 95 decibels (dB). Noise levels exceeding 70 decibels (dB) for an extended length of time may begin to harm your hearing. Loud noises that exceed 120 decibels (dB) can cause instant damage.

Think that hearing damage is usually workplace-related? Activities away from work can damage hearing just as much as a noisy job. Over half of all adults with hearing damage do not have noisy jobs.

The average person is born with about 16,000 hair cells within their inner ear. These cells allow your brain to detect sounds. Damaged inner ear cells do not grow back. So, protect your hearing, and if you already have hearing loss, or are experiencing pain, discomfort, or ringing in the ears, take steps to keep it from getting worse.