Tutorial Tuesday: Protecting your Ears

More so today than ever before, you need to be extra cautious about the level at which you listen to music.  Because of technology and the desire to be the loudest, hearing loss is much more prevalent today in not only industry folks, but also in the general public. Have you ever sat next to someone on the bus or train that had their music up so loud that you could clearly hear like you were listening to it yourself?  This is where we are today with music.  Sadly, very few people know just how much they are hurting their ears.  We’ve all seen the charts and graphs of what each dBA ranks at.  But just in case you were wondering.   If you noticed, the risk of Tinnitus, which means a “ringing” within the human ear (ringing of the ears) when no actual sound is present, begins at 85dBA.   This is typically associated with the onset of hearing loss.  The max volume of the typical mp3 player is 100dBA.  Which doesn’t take make explaining why hearing loss is so prevalent.  Just because your ipod goes that loud doesn’t mean that’s how loud you should listen to it at. There is another factor however that you may not be aware of.  Sound is actually pressure, sound waves hit the ear drum and vibrate it, causing us to hear it.  So the biggest culprit is ear buds.  earbuds sit right next to the ear drum, in the canal, with no way to release the pressure.  Some in ear monitors and higher end ear buds do have ways to release this pressure with vents on the outside. Another way to help is to buy some headphones that sit on the outside of the ear.  This may be the new style but is actually better for your ears as long as the music is listened to at a reasonable level. Concerts have gotten louder as well and there are a lot of ways to protect your hearing at those as well.  Do not be ashamed to wear ear plugs.  Hearos are great because they just filter out certain frequencies as way as dBA levels. Take care of your ears, so you can enjoy music later in life.  Your eardrums cannot be repaired, so it’s up to you to take care of them.