The Holidays and Hearing Loss

The end of November brings cooler weather, Thanksgiving, and yes, hearing loss.
In Pennsylvania, the "real" hunting season (as some hunters declare) begins the Monday after Thanksgiving. This means all the hunters will be looking for their long underwear, gloves, orange hats, and hopefully, their ear protection.

Tiny hairs inside the ear, called stereocilia, cannot tolerate prolonged loud noise exposure or short bursts of very loud noise. This trauma, called acoustic trauma, often leads to permanent hearing loss. The #1 preventable cause of permanent nerve hearing loss is loud noise. Loud noise is typically anything over 85 decibels (dB). A lawnmower produces about 90 dB of noise, while a jet takeoff registers at roughly 140 dB. A single gunshot is usually louder than that, at 140-170 dB!

Without proper protection in place, the blast from a rifle can cause not only hearing loss, but also permanent ringing in the ear(s) (tinnitus), ruptured eardrum(s), dizziness (vertigo), ear pain, and even bloody drainage from the ear(s). All of these disturbing afflictions can easily be prevented with either in-the-ear plugs or outer ear muffs. The soft, compressible ear plugs are very inexpensive (about 40 cents for 3 pair) and available at almost any store.
 
So when your hunter heads out with rifle in hand, remember ear protection is just as important as bullets!

References: "Noise-Induced Hearing Loss" by Peter Rabinowitz, M.D., M.P.H. Yale University School of Medicine. American Family Physician. May 1, 2000. www.aafp.org.