Music For Life – Wear Hearing Protection so you can Enjoy it in old age.
Image thanks to Sohowarrior19 CC-BY SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Are you a frequent clubber, spin cycle enthusiast or professional musician? If so, you are likely to be exposed to sound levels high enough to damage your hearing. Studies have shown that the typical spin cycle class turns up the music between 90 decibels (subway train) to 100 decibels (power lawnmower) which is loud enough to damage your hearing in less than an hour.
Frequenting nightclubs or attending concerts on a regular basis can be more damaging to your hearing than working on a factory floor. A study reported by Michael Addelman and conducted by the Colt Foundation, found that people who frequent clubs and concerts regularly have suffered moderate hearing loss. With sound levels frequently exceeding 100 decibels after only 15 minutes the hairs in the inner ear suffer irreparable damage.
Professional musicians have a fourfold risk of noise induced deafness compared to the general public. According to The British Medical Journal they also have a 57% greater likelihood to develop tinnitus.
Now, we do not want to stop spinning, listening to or playing music but we also do not want to damage our hearing – what to do? Wearing some sort of hearing protection can greatly reduce the risks. Wearing ear muffs may not be practical, comfortable or socially acceptable in some of these situations. Luckily the types of hearing protection have advanced over the years and current best products come in ear bud styes that are pretty unobtrusive and much more comfortable. The best models offer hear-through modes so you can listen to your music accurately but still at a safer level. Some have built-in Bluetooth so you can even answer calls on your phone while continuing to listen to your music and not reducing your level of protection.
Thankfully the Stealth Elite are an unobtrusive ear pros with Bluetooth technology and