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28th
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I don't need to look at a calendar to know when Spring officially arrives. My neighbour's daughter does that for me. She likes her music at a volume that would shame a 60s rock star! In spring when windows open up, it becomes a problem, particularly when she rolls through at 3 am.
Perhaps we should get together and suggest that she stay at the party until 6 am, and then I wouldn't need an alarm clock, but then her parents might object.
I struck up a conversation with her a few days ago and she didn't really think that her music was that loud. Remembering back to the days when I wanted killer audio systems in my cars, I could see her point, except that if I had woken my parents or the neighbours up, there would have been swift and imaginative retribution.
After this conversation, I wondered about hearing loss from all the modern sources of noise and that seems to be a growth industry of all its own. Like everything else in life, if taken to excess, noise can cause problems and it doesn't matter what the source is. Everything from tractors, to having the car windows down can, over time, cause hearing loss. Loss in hearing from “music sources” such as car stereos, iPods and other sources showed that there could be as much as a 15 db hearing loss in teens that continually used such devices.
One of the biggest scams perpetrated on consumers is the “clean sound” that new stereo equipment produces. Sales representatives try to tell you that it is the dirty or background noise that causes problems. Once you bite on this hook, you have just changed from a stereophile to a stereofool. It is and always has been the volume that causes the hearing loss. All “clean” or “dirty” noise does is change which part of your hearing range goes first.
Just about every major medical group has done studies and all of them show the same results. Continued exposure to sound at high levels (the actual number of decibels measured did vary) showed a significant hearing loss (10 db or more). The loss was progressive in that it accelerated (when compared to a control group) as the subjects got older.
Protecting your hearing isn't that difficult to do. When driving, roll windows up and enjoy the quietness of modern interiors and then add a reasonable amount volume to enjoy your music. Use noise cancelling ear buds or headphones to help keep outside noise from interfering when using your personal listening devices.
Remember if you don't turn the volume down, Mother Nature will do it for you!
Perhaps we should get together and suggest that she stay at the party until 6 am, and then I wouldn't need an alarm clock, but then her parents might object.
I struck up a conversation with her a few days ago and she didn't really think that her music was that loud. Remembering back to the days when I wanted killer audio systems in my cars, I could see her point, except that if I had woken my parents or the neighbours up, there would have been swift and imaginative retribution.
After this conversation, I wondered about hearing loss from all the modern sources of noise and that seems to be a growth industry of all its own. Like everything else in life, if taken to excess, noise can cause problems and it doesn't matter what the source is. Everything from tractors, to having the car windows down can, over time, cause hearing loss. Loss in hearing from “music sources” such as car stereos, iPods and other sources showed that there could be as much as a 15 db hearing loss in teens that continually used such devices.
One of the biggest scams perpetrated on consumers is the “clean sound” that new stereo equipment produces. Sales representatives try to tell you that it is the dirty or background noise that causes problems. Once you bite on this hook, you have just changed from a stereophile to a stereofool. It is and always has been the volume that causes the hearing loss. All “clean” or “dirty” noise does is change which part of your hearing range goes first.
Just about every major medical group has done studies and all of them show the same results. Continued exposure to sound at high levels (the actual number of decibels measured did vary) showed a significant hearing loss (10 db or more). The loss was progressive in that it accelerated (when compared to a control group) as the subjects got older.
Protecting your hearing isn't that difficult to do. When driving, roll windows up and enjoy the quietness of modern interiors and then add a reasonable amount volume to enjoy your music. Use noise cancelling ear buds or headphones to help keep outside noise from interfering when using your personal listening devices.
Remember if you don't turn the volume down, Mother Nature will do it for you!
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| Photo: Matthieu Lambert |