Whether you enjoy spreading a blanket out on the University of Georgia’s campus lawn to watch huge fireworks displays or simply setting off a few sparklers and firecrackers in your backyard, enjoying the colorful lights can be an excellent way to ring in the new year.
While fireworks are a lot of fun, the muffled hearing that accompanies them, known as a temporary threshold shift, is best avoided. Let’s take a look at how you hear, why temporary threshold shifts occur and what you can do to safeguard your hearing during your celebrations.
How Does Hearing Work?
When you hear the cracking of fireworks, the sound waves travel through the outer ear and ear canal to your eardrum. The sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, and the vibrations travel to the tiny bones in your middle ear. The small bones send the vibrations to the cochlea in the inner ear. The cochlea is lined with tiny hair cells. As the sound vibrations move through the hair cells, the cells send messages to the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve sends the signals to the brain, where they are interpreted as sound.
What To Know About Temporary Threshold Shift
When you are exposed to loud noises beyond a safe decibel level, the tiny hair cells in your ear can become bent, reducing your ear’s ability to transmit sound to the brain. In the case of a temporary threshold shift, your hearing will return to normal in a short time. While temporary threshold shifts are usually not a cause for alarm, too much exposure to loud noise can result in permanent hearing loss.
How Can You Protect Your Hearing?
The Centers for Disease Control defines the threshold for hearing loss as exposure to noise over 70 dB for a prolonged period or over 120 dB immediately. Close exposure to firecrackers rings in at 140-150 dB. Luckily, the volume of firecrackers does not mean you need to rule them out as a celebration method.
Earplugs or earmuffs are effective options to dampen the force with which sound hits your ears. By wearing hearing protection and limiting your fireworks exposure to only special occasions, you can help prevent noise-induced hearing loss.
To learn more about protecting your hearing, contact ENT of Athens today to make an appointment with one of our specialists.