10 July 2013
Summer activities can harm your hearing
Boating, jet skiing, motorcycling, hunting and golfing can cause hearing loss.
The summer has arrived and that means that it's time for many fun and exciting outdoor activities. But many of these activities can be noisy. This can damage your hearing and may result in a hearing loss.
Some of the summer activities that can damage your ears are:
- Boating: a loud activity, with normal noise levels of 80 dB. It is important to keep a distance from the motor and not to travel at high speeds.
- Jet skiing: an activity with noise levels that can reach over 85 dB and at full speed the level can exceed 105dB. Ear protection is strongly recommended.
- Motorcycling: a noisy activity as well, with levels of 85 dB or more. It is a good idea to use a helmet when riding a motorcycle - both for your general safety but also to protect your hearing.
- Hunting: possibly the loudest activity with noise levels of up to 140 dB when a shotgun is fired. Hearing protection is strongly recommended.
- Golfing: an activity which can cause hearing loss because the titanium drivers emit a loud sound when they hit the ball. Earplugs should therefore be used.
Use hearing protection
The human ear can tolerate noise levels of up to 85 dB over a longer period.
The noise levels in the above-mentioned summer activities range from 80 dB to 140 dB and after prolonged exposure, noise at these levels can damage your hearing.
The higher the noise level, the shorter the length of time the human ear can tolerate such a strain.
As a recommendation, hearing protection should therefore be used in all activities with noise levels that exceed 85 dB.
Source: http://www.wireservice.ca/
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