Are the Sounds of Sports Damaging Your Hearing?

Football teams about to begin a play | hearing test near St. Johns MI

Do you enjoy attending sporting events? 

Or maybe watching them on television? 

Fall might be the most popular season for sports in America due to football alone, but there are many other sports that go on during this time too, such as soccer, field hockey, and volleyball. Attending these games can be fun and exciting, but they can also be loud! 

Make Some Noise! 

At sporting events, you might hear:

  • The cheering crowd 
  • Cheerleaders 
  • The marching band 
  • Noisemakers: airhorns, megaphones, and cowbells
  • Fireworks

These loud sounds can cause noise-induced hearing loss and can even rupture your ear drums.

What Is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss? 

According to a CDC study, at least 10 million adults under 70 experience hearing loss in one or both ears after exposure to loud noises. 
Noise-induced hearing loss can occur when you hear extremely loud sounds for a short time, or hear loud sounds over an extended period of time. As a result, the hair cells in your ears that turn sound vibrations into electrical signals to send to your brain will be damaged or could die. These hair cells do not regenerate.

Hearing damage can occur if sounds are 85 decibels or higher:

  • Sporting events ‒ 94-110 dB 
  • Fireworks ‒ 140-160 dB 
  • Air horns ‒ 129 dB

Sporting events usually span multiple hours, so hearing these sounds for that extended amount of time could really affect your hearing.

These loud sounds can also rupture your ear drums. A ruptured ear drum can lead to hearing loss, infections, tinnitus, and vertigo. While these symptoms are usually temporary until the ear drum repairs itself, it may not heal naturally and require surgery.

Even watching the game at home on tv could reveal hearing loss you didn’t notice.

Do your family members keep telling you to turn the volume down? If your television is excessively loud, it may be time to get a hearing test.

Protect your ears this fall by wearing ear plugs and by keeping your television’s volume at a normal level. If you can’t hear it or think your hearing has been damaged by noise, stop by CCMC Hearing Care for a hearing test.

Hearing Tests Near St. Johns, MI

Keep hearing the sounds of sports! 

At CCMC Hearing Care, our hearing tests can determine the quality of your hearing and help us create a treatment plan for you. Before the test, we’ll also check to see if you have ear drum damage. Our hearing specialists can keep you hearing the sounds you love!

For hearing tests near St. Johns, MI, call CCMC Hearing Care today at 989-292-3572.

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