Noise Induced Hearing Loss

There are many sounds we encounter that can potentially cause permanent damage to your hearing. Learn about when damage can occur, some of the common sounds and some easy tips to prevent noise induced hearing loss.

Hearing Loss can occur when…Having continuous exposure to sounds of 85 decibels or louderBeing exposed once to sounds exceeding 120 decibelsHere are some examples of sounds that can damage your hearing.‍

Traffic: 85 decibels

‍Lawn Mower: 90 decibels

‍Power Tools: 100 decibels

‍An MP3 Player at Max Volume: 110 decibels

‍Motor Boat: 110 decibels

‍Rock Concert: 115 decibels

‍Sporting Event: 137.6 decibels (loudest ever recorded)Here are some sounds that you wouldn’t typically encounter, but gives you an idea of how loud they are relative to other typical sounds we can encounter.

‍Jet Engine: 140 decibels

‍Rocket Launch: 180 decibels

The good news is there are simple ways you can protect yourself from noise induced hearing loss. Here are just a few of those ways.

• Wear ear plugs or noise cancelling ear muffs when you are around loud sounds, like power tools or mowing the lawn
• Turn down the music. The volume on your MP3 player is too high if it completely drowns out all background noise, or if it feels uncomfortable to listen to.