It seems that people in more and more places are waking up to the dangers of noise-induced hearing loss in modern society. Just last week, a council at City Hall in Minneapolis voted on an ordinance requiring night clubs and bars that have amplified or live music – about 185 venues in the city – to provide patrons with earplugs, free of charge. The committee unanimously approved the ordinance, which will go to the full city council on April 11.
Hearing health advocated hail the ordinance as a step in the right direction to protect against NIHL, which is 100 percent preventable.
“This is good government,” council member and sponsor of the ordinance, Jacob Frey, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “We’re tackling something that has flown under the radar for a generation or two.”
Under the ordinance, clubs, bars and other venues with amplified music would only be required to give free earplugs if they had a supply of them – not only will earplugs be free to the venue patrons but they will be donated to the owners to eliminate costs. Initially, the company 3M will donate 2,000 pairs of earplugs and a dispenser to each venue, and then clothing brand Locally Grown, Globally Known and The Miracle-Ear Hearing Foundation will also step in to help.
While it seems like a win-win situation, many venue owners are protesting the ordinance because they make money selling earplugs at their shows.
Still, NIHL is a public health issue, and advocates feel that people will be more likely to protect their ears if they have a free source of protection. Additionally, protecting their ears now will save individuals costly treatments for hearing loss in the long run and improve their overall quality of life.
“People don’t realize the dangers of noise, and we see this as a great opportunity to educate them,” Jason Jones, a representative from 3M, told MinnPost about the company’s interest in preventing hearing loss. “You’d never let people go into a nightclub if they temporarily lost their eye sight [as a result], but people go into nightclubs and temporarily lose their hearing all of the time.”
Protecting yourself against NIHL
Noise-induced hearing loss occurs when our ears are exposed to decibels that reach beyond safe hearing thresholds. NIHL can be caused by both impulse sound, such as gun fire at close range or an explosion, as well as repeated exposure to loud noises, such as working in a carpentry shop without proper ear protection or listening to music at dangerous decibels.
In order to protect your precious ears and avoid needing hearing loss solutions in the future, here are things you can do to protect yourself from NIHL:
- Be aware of the safe decibel thresholds. Generally, sounds that are as loud as 85 dBs or louder can damage your hearing. For example, normal conversation is about 60 dB, motorcycles can be louder than 95 dB and an MP3 player at maximum volume can be as loud as 105 dB.
- Know the symptoms of NIHL. They include:
- difficulty understanding speech during telephone or group conversations
- pain or ringing in the ears
- sounds seeming distorted or muffled.
- Learn how to protect yourself against NIHL. Awareness is a major hurdle in protecting against NIHL, but once you are aware, you will be more likely to be alert to hazardous environmental noise. Keep earplugs or other protective devices with you, especially if you will be doing an activity like leaf-blowing, attending a concert, cheering the team on at a sporting event or driving a motorcycle. Tell others about the hazards of NIHL and make sure to have your hearing tested if you think you have NIHL.
