If you have to shout over the noise to be heard by someone within arm’s length, the noise is probably in the dangerous range. Here are the warning signs:

• You have pain in your ears after leaving a noisy area.
• You hear ringing or buzzing (tinnitus) in your ears immediately after exposure to noise.
• You suddenly have difficulty understanding speech after exposure to noise; you can hear people talking but can’t understand them.

We hear sound when delicate hair cells in our inner ear vibrate, creating nerve signals that the brain understands as sound. But just as we can overload an electrical circuit, we also can overload these vibrating hair cells. Loud noise damages these delicate hair cells, resulting in sensorineural hearing loss and often tinnitus (ringing in the ears). The cells that are the first to be damaged or die are those that vibrate most quickly—those that allow us to hear higher-frequency sounds clearly, like the sounds of birds singing and children speaking.

Studies have shown that concert  lovers who wore earplugs were roughly five times less likely to have some temporary hearing loss than those who didn’t wear them. The earplug-users also were less likely to suffer from tinnitus afterwards. Prolonged exposure to lawn mowers, power tools, motorised recreational vehicles, target shooting, sporting events and fireworks can potentially damage hearing. But you can avoid or minimise hearing damage by wearing earplugs or other ear protection. Your local hearing care professionals at ‘ My Audiologist’ can provide custom ear protection that is crafted to fit each unique ear. Custom protection ensures a proper, optimal fitting each time, further reducing the risk of unwanted noise exposure. We  can also provide a hearing test to determine your baseline hearing level and determine if you already have any hearing loss.

Please call ‘ My Audiologist” on 07 3446 5845…..