The holiday season is full of festivities and joy. However, holiday traditions and parties can get loud, and even winter weather can have an impact on your ear health. As you celebrate the holidays, keep your hearing health in mind and make these simple habits a part of your day to keep your hearing strong.
Why Protecting Your Hearing Matters
Exposure to loud noise is the second leading cause of hearing loss, affecting nearly 40 million adults. Loud noise damages the delicate structures in your inner ears that are responsible for transmitting sound information. Damage of this sort causes noise-induced hearing loss.
Because noise-induced hearing loss is so common, it’s important to be aware of it. Noise-induced hearing loss is preventable, but once the damage is done, it is permanent.
What You Can Do to Protect Your Hearing
Just because you don’t hear a deafening blast doesn’t mean the volume isn’t too loud. If you find yourself in a noisy setting for an extended period of time, remember these tips to protect your hearing.
- Turn the volume down. Holiday music is a wonderful part of the festive season, but playing music too loudly can hurt your hearing. Keep volume levels at a reasonable level (no more than 85 decibels), and if you’re a guest at a holiday party, don’t be shy about asking the host to turn the volume down if it’s getting too noisy.
- Stand in a quieter area. Don’t try to have a conversation right next to a loud speaker or television. Instead, try to steer your group somewhere quieter, such as outside or in a different room. At the very least, try to position yourself far away from noise centers.
- Use a sound measuring app. You can download a sound-measuring app on your smartphone (many of them are free!) and use it to measure how loud your environment is in decibels. Noises above 85 decibels have the potential to harm your hearing, so if you see noise levels rise above 85, you know to make some adjustments.
- Use hearing protection. We get it; you don’t want to wear earplugs at a holiday party. However, if you find yourself in an exceptionally loud situation, such as fireworks or snow blowing your driveway, you should be wearing adequate hearing protection.
- Take breaks. Give your ears and brain a break by stepping away from the noise from time to time. This can help your ears recover, even slightly, from the onslaught of noise, and let you refresh.
Signs of Hearing Damage
If you’ve been exposed to loud noise recently and notice changes in your hearing in the days after, it might be time to see an audiologist. Some signs include:
- Muffled hearing
- A feeling of fullness in the ear
- Difficulty following conversations
- Difficulty hearing high-pitched noises
- Feeling tired after conversations
- Tinnitus
If you notice any of these signs or any other change in your hearing, come see us at Palmetto ENT & Allergy. We can conduct a hearing test to determine the extent of the damage to your hearing and if any treatment is necessary. Don’t let hearing loss cause you to miss the festive sounds of the season!