Check out these potential risks and ways to protect your hearing this fall.
Fall is the season of colorful leaves, football games, and nature walks. But on the flip side — it’s also the season of loud leaf blowers, cheering crowds, and potential seasonal allergens. Because of this, it’s important to learn how to protect your hearing in the fall. Let’s look at some top considerations:
- Protect your ears from seasonal sounds
- Don’t skip the sunscreen
- Be aware of allergens
- Keep your ears warm
- Schedule a hearing test if you haven’t yet
Read on to learn more about these important ways to protect your hearing in fall.
Protect your ears from seasonal sounds
Every season tends to have its own loud sounds to watch out for:
- Loud concerts and festivals in the summer
- Fireworks in summer and winter for Fourth of July and New Years
- Landscaping equipment spring through fall — lawn mowers, tillers, and leaf blowers
- Gunshots during the fall hunting seasons
- Loud sporting events, like football, in the fall
During the fall (and the other seasons too!), it never hurts to equip yourself with the right items to protect your hearing. Carrying earplugs or other hearing protection around with you can protect your ears from surprise noises!
Don’t skip the sunscreen
Just because the temperatures may be cooling off doesn’t mean the sun isn’t still strong! The sun emits ultraviolet radiation all year, although the rays do get weaker as the sun’s angle changes. Applying sunscreen before going outdoors is a good skincare and ear care tip you can use all year long.
Be aware of allergens
If you suffer from allergies in the spring, you’ll probably have a few to deal with in the fall too! Ragweed pollen is the most common fall allergen, while rarer allergy-inducing plants include burning bush, sagebrush, and tumbleweed. Allergies can affect our ears in a variety of ways, triggering symptoms like muffled hearing, itching, dizziness, ringing, and potentially ear infections.
Check out this previous blog post to learn how to protect your ears during allergy season. The most important things are keeping your ears and hearing aids (if you use them) clean and dry, and taking antihistamines to relieve ear pressure.
Keep your ears warm
Moving into the later half of fall, dropping temperatures can also affect your ears. Since ears don’t have a layer of insulating fat, they’re one of the first body parts to get cold! Starting at temperatures around 59°F, the blood vessels in your ears will start to constrict. This can impact hearing since your ears need blood flow to function. Because of that, fall is a great time to pull out your hoodies, hats, and earmuffs!
Schedule a hearing test if you haven’t yet
There are several compelling reasons to get an annual hearing test with an audiologist. They help you identify potential issues early, prevent future damage, talk about your concerns, share new ways to protect your hearing, and start treatment as soon as you need it. Fall is a herald that the year is coming to an end, so give the audiologist a call if you haven’t had your appointment yet!
We’re big fans of fall at CapTel! Make sure to check out some of our favorite ways to celebrate autumn, and check to see if there’s a fall Walk4Hearing happening near you!
