We love to take part in hobbies during our downtime, things like DIY, music concerts and motor racing, but we rarely think about how these hobbies might impact the long-term health of our hearing. Actually, hobbies with high decibel levels can kill off the cilia in the ear canal and lead to hearing loss.
The good news is you don’t have to give up your favorite hobbies for fear of losing your hearing at some point. With quality hearing protection and routine trips to the audiologist, you should be able to take part in loud hobbies and still protect your hearing.
Carpentry and DIY
These days home carpentry, upcycling and DIY are all the rage but these Hobbies can lead to hearing loss especially if you use power tools to complete projects. Power tools such as hand drills and circular saws produce around 85 decibels which are high enough to cause damage.
If you are engaged in these sorts of hobbies you need to ensure you are wearing protective headgear to reduce the risk of short and long term hearing loss. The type of hearing loss associated with the power tools in noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL).
Shooting clays
Shooting clays is a fun activity for the weekend with friends or for a wedding party. There’s the thrill of using the gun, aiming at the clays and the satisfaction of knocking them out of the sky. Unfortunately, this activity can lead to hearing loss in the short and long term, mainly because of the gun volume.
Clay guns produce a sound of 150 decibels which goes off suddenly beside the ear. This produces a shock wave that can damage the delicate hair in the inner ear and lead to hearing loss. One time is enough, but if you proceed to shoot regularly it increases the risks.
Music concerts
Everyone loves going to Music concerts and festivals especially when the summer season arrives and so much is happening. There’s nothing better than standing in a crowd with a beer and watching your favorite artist on stage while the sun is beating down. It can be easy to forget about your hearing.
The loudspeakers at music concerts regularly emit decibels levels well over the damaging level of 80. It’s even worse if you are up close to the speaker. Try to remember the effect of this noise on your ears and wear earplugs or ear protection if possible.
Motorsports
Motorsports are enjoyable to watch and take part in, formula one, rally driving, air racing, kart racing, motorboat racing and many more; unfortunately, these sports also use very loud engines and can create long term damage to your ears whether you drive them or watch from the stands.
The deafening noise produced by these vehicles is both loud and sustained, especially if you drive them. This high-octane noise can cause severe and lasting damage to your hearing. Always use suitable headphones and have your hearing checked regularly by an audiologist.
