SoundGirls.org: As we grow older, hearing loss is something we will all have to deal with in one way or another. Human hearing deteriorates at different rates and severity for each of us. As members of the audio community, it is extremely important for us to keep our ears in tip-top condition for as long as possible. Here are a couple of tips to help your ears stay young and healthy.
12 comments:
Honestly, losing my hearing is one of the most daunting long term repercussions of doing the kind of work I do. I know it is really likely that I will have hearing loss pretty early on in my life from the amount of concerts I go to, power tools I use, and equipment like mowers I get on. I try to be good about wearing hearing protection when I should, but it can be hard to remember to at times. Every time I get on a mower without ear plugs (which is every time) I know what I am doing is stupid, but it is one of those learned behaviors that is just really hard to change. I have always seen my dad do it that way, and even when I worked on a mowing crew, no one wore any kind of ear protection. It would not be as detrimental to my career as someone in the sound department, but it would still be detrimental to my life in general. I should really invest in a set of good earmuffs that are actually comfortable enough for me to tolerate in my everyday work.
This is one of the things I am most concerned about. Hearing loss is a big deal for me. It is something I have always been aware about because my mother has been partially deaf for as long as I have known her. I also work in load environments all the time and frequent load environments for entertainment purposes. One of the things that I have noticed, each year that goes by it seems that people tend to become more and more deaf. This is heavily present when you attend movie theaters as each year the sound is louder and louder… and I am the only one to notice. Because of my mother, I have taken it upon myself to watch how I treat my ears. I wear ear protection when working and I wear decibel lowering ear plugs when I attend music festivals or other forms of similarly loud events. I also only wear over the ear headphone, NO EARBUDS. These measures have helped me maintain excellent hearing. However, most people don’t take these measures with earbuds becoming the number one rise in hearing loss. This is then coupled with people who put music on loud… you always want to keep it low. This is also another factor that is becoming hard to do… often times, I find that devices wont go as low as want them too because even the lowest volume setting will hurt my ears and this is again another measurement of how deaf we are all becoming. The manufacturers of these products are increasing ability to bring volumes higher because consumers are complaining about the inability to hear at levels that they really shouldn’t be listening to.
It is pretty well established that we should all be more careful and protective of our ears. I’m not an audio engineer, so they’re not my livelihood, but that doesn’t mean I’m eager to lose my hearing. However, I am rather irresponsible about maintain them. I haven’t been to many concerts, but when I have I have chosen not to get earplugs because, “I want to experience the full concert environment,” and in the scene shop, I’ll often take out my ear plugs to better hear someone when talking to them and then forget to put them back in when working with tools. I find it ironic that smoking, another vice common among this industry, exacerbates hearing loss. It makes me more grateful that I don’t smoke, but it also makes me more considered for my colleagues and makes me want to take hearing protection more seriously and set a good example by remembering to always have ear protection on hand.
As an individual with tinnitus, hearing loss is a huge concern for me. Compounded with this is the nature of the construction and entertainment industries, my love of metal music, and most of my grandparents need hearing aids. Consequently, I will take any and all advice on preserving my hearing and the health of my ears! While some tips, like getting regular ear exams (which I've never done) and wearing hearing protection, are pretty intuitive, I was really surprised by the tip about smoking. While I don't smoke or vape, I found it particularly surprising that smokers are 60% more likely to develop high frequency hearing loss when compared to nonsmokers. I will admit that I don't always wear hearing protection when I should- it is often inconvenient to go across the shop and grab them when I am already standing right at the saw, or especially when I am installing something on stage with an impact gun. However, I suppose that the small inconvenience is ultimately outweighed by losing my hearing...
I've always been terrified that my 20 years of growing up in a loud Indian family, where we go to Indian parties/weddings/events where loud music is blasting from speakers positioned without any consideration of safety, have affected my ears with irreversible damage. And honestly, it probably has. Reading this article emphasized many of the things I already knew about caring for my ears, but it scared me to read about how covering my ears was a necessary part to keeping them healthy. Because I definitely haven't been doing that. I'm glad to say that I'm not a smoker and I stopped using the cotton swabs years ago - a habit my parents engrained in me a long time ago that was hard to shake.
The article was directed towards audio professionals, which I am not, but still definitely helpful and contained great facts for the average reader. I will now be on the look out for habits that could damage my ears, and try to avoid things like wearing earbuds or leaving them uncovered.
For someone who constantly has their headphones turned all the way up and work in the entertainment industry, I really need to care more about my ears. The union workers at places I’ve interned at would constantly tell me to take care of my ears so I don’t end up with their hearing. Reading about not using Q-tips and having a good pair of earmuffs is definitely something I hadn't even thought twice about because of habit and laziness. Q-tips are easy and I have never owned a pair of earmuffs so why start now? Well if I don’t want severe hearing loss, then starting with simple steps like this could really help in the long run. While I won’t be in severe situations like someone in the sound department, this is important for sound in everyday life. I absolutely love going to concerts and listening to music, but without proper precautions, my hearing could be shot by the time I hit 40.
As a musician, sometimes I sit down and begin to play without realizing what the audio level either my keyboard or my headphones themselves are. Sometimes I've been sent reeling after taking off my headphones to find that I was playing too loud the whole time. Hearing loss is a scary notion, especially as I have had 4 short-term cases of tinnitus (short-term being a few weeks here versus the prospect of it being a chronic condition for some). Reading this article has made me acutely aware of some of the things I could be doing better for my ears, chief among them probably being to get ear exams, which I didn't realize were as prevalent as this article makes them out to be. Giving up q-tips as well is a hard feat, but the ultimatum presented weighs a little more on the "continue playing a instrument" side over their convenience.
Being in a field that often produces loud noises, or requires the use of noisy power tools, I’m regularly concerned with the possibility of hearing loss. Even though I’m no longer a sound tech, I still value my ears and good hearing. I try to wear ear plugs or other ear protectors whenever i’m working with anything in the shop. I should get in the practice of wearing hearing protection more often outside of construction situations, since those are not the only times loud noises and damage can occur. In terms of the article, I think it gives some pretty good general advice. I haven’t gotten an ear exam in over a year but maybe when the world opens back up a bit and everything is safer I will. I also don’t smoke which, according to the article, drastically increases the likelihood of developing high frequency hearing loss. I don’t really go to concerts or parties, but if I ever wanted to in the future I should remember to bring some ear plugs or something.
I will admit I have been less careful than I should with my ears. Sometimes I forget earplugs or go to noisy concerts. However, when I use earbuds I never turn the sound up loud and I don't smoke which apparently increases your choice of hearing loss. The whole time I knew my grandfather he had begun going deaf and the lasting impact on his interaction with the world was very apparent to me at a young age. Protecting one's hearing is a fairly easy task it just takes a little more conscious effort which is by far worth it. In this industry especially hearing is a sense that is simultaneously very important but also easily at risk. Loud noises and power tools and many other things can greatly impact one's hearing and so it is of the utmost importance that it is protected. I believe that the article details some very easy and effective ways to do this which should be commonplace.
I have honestly done a terrible job at taking care of my ears and taking protective measures to ensure I do not experience a loss in hearing. I honestly never knew exactly how bad q-tips were on the ear, however once my doctor told me not to use them it made sense. There does seem to be a lack of care when it comes down to ear health in the theatre industry as most people do not wear ear protection while working or while watching live performances. I have worked around power tool pretty heavily for years and have yet to wear ear protection. It has also become a cultural norm to wear earbuds rather than over the ear headphones, which can make a big difference in your ear health. Attending concerts with no ear protection is also dangerous however when I go to concerts I only see young children wearing ear protection but no body else. Lucky for me I don't smoke so my ears are somewhat safe in that regard. The most surprising thing to me was the idea of wearing ear protection in heavily populated areas as it can produce high noise levels, something I have never seen people do. I think starting to take my ear health more seriously and have yearly check ups on these ears is important to keep my ears safe and thrive within the industry.
I am so scared of damaging my hearing or experiencing hearing loss. My dad has tinnitus, and he says it gets pretty bad sometimes. He also went to a ton of concerts and hung out right by the speakers, so he definitely put himself at greater risk. So, maybe my concern is me being a hypochondriac and somewhat illogical, but anxiety is never logical.
I want to be a sound designer, so I definitely need to keep my hearing in tip-top shape. I don’t know if I’m willing to completely give up Q-tips, though… that sounds kind of gross. But, I’m definitely going to stop using them so frequently (I also use them when I get out of the shower, same as the author) What I did learn from this article, is that you should get your hearing checked annually. I did not know that! I’m going to have to find a doctor in Pittsburgh who will do this for me, if my PCP back home isn’t able to.
As someone who has been involved in countless hours of build days, as well as worked with sound design and microphones, I know that protecting your ears is very important. Yet, I still do not take the proper care of wearing coverings and instead damage my ears even more with a cotton swab. It is quite shameful that I do this, despite the warnings and short term damages I have had. The technical director that I worked with in high school has tinnitus even though he is in his late 20s. This is from not properly protecting his ears while constructing. I definitely need to start actively implementing ways to protect my ears. I was not aware that I should annually be getting my ears checked! I already scheduled an appointment to do so. I also did not know that smoking could impair hearing. Though I do not smoke and do not intend to, I thought it was an interesting fact.
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