Hearing loss from noise

12 months in and life is good for my family and I.  Hearing is mostly stable but communication continues to improve, little by little.  

I am posting because John O'Connor asked me to add his piece on hearing loss from excessive noise.  I grew up in a farming community and remember most of the old farmers being as deaf as a post, probably from the noise impact John highlights below.

It's a well written piece and I am delighted John felt my blog a good platform for his work. 

:)

Hearing Protection Devices and Hunting

Hearing loss because of hunting is more common than people may believe.  Many do not think people lose their hearing when hunting because they do not immediately notice the hearing loss.  The hearing loss may take years to happen, but if people hunt regularly and do not use hearing protection, then the hearing loss is bound to eventually occur.  There are several ways a person can protect himself or herself from hearing loss while hunting.

My father has been an avid hunter for years.  Although very good, he often did not pay much attention to his hearing protection when out on a hunt or practicing at the range.  Due to hunting and a few other reasons, he now suffers severely from hearing loss.  He still likes to hunt and head to the range but always makes sure he is wearing his hearing aids and that he has the proper hearing protection on. 

What Causes the Hearing Loss?

Before someone can understand how to protect him or herself from hearing loss, he or she must first understand the reasons why hearing loss happens.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, excessive exposure to loud noises can cause damage to the hearing.  Also, the agency states that loud noises will cause health problems such as high blood pressure, speech problems, and hearing loss.  Gunshots will usually produce decibels of 140 to 170.  It usually takes time for the hearing loss to occur; however, in some instances, the hearing loss will happen automatically.

Earplugs

Earplugs can reduce the sound of the gunfire.  Most earplugs, along with earmuffs, will reduce the sound by 30 to 40 decibels.  Therefore, if the gunshot has a sound of 140 decibels, then the hunter will only hear sounds of 110 to 100 decibels.  However, this is still extremely loud.  If a gunshot produces a sound of 170 decibels, the hunter will still hear sounds of 140 to 130 decibels.  Most audiologists recommend that people do not expose themselves to sounds of over 80 decibels.   Wearing earplugs is better than not wearing any hearing protection at all; however, one can clearly see that even when wearing earplugs, people still run the risk of damaging their hearing.  Therefore, people should invest in more advance hearing protection devices.

Electronic Earmuffs

Electronic earmuffs are the newest form of hearing protection on the market today.  They are much more effective than earplugs alone, and they have more capabilities than regular earmuffs.  With electronic earmuffs, people will know that the sound of the gunfire will be reduced by 50 decibels.  Therefore, if the sound is 170, the hunter will only hear 120.  Although this still presents a problem, electronic earmuffs can be worn with earplugs.  By combining the protection of earplugs and electronic earmuffs, a hunter can reduce the sound of gunfire by 80 or 90 decibels.  If the sound is 170 and the hunter has on both earplugs and electronic earmuffs, he or she will only be hearing a sound of 80 or 90 decibels.

Protecting the hearing sense is very important when someone is hunting.  Although there are several hearing protection devices out today, the best way for someone to protect his or her hearing is to wear both earplugs and electronic earmuffs.

Hi my name is John O'Connor, I am a father, outdoorsman and passionate about living a healthy lifestyle.  Over the past few years I have become more and more interested in hearing loss.  My father and grandfathers, who are and were all hunters, are affected by hearing loss.  I feel that there is a general lack of understanding around the issue and it is our job to spread awareness where we can.  Check out my new blog at bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com!

6 months after.

Ok. Here we are 6 months post operation.

We sadly left Japan but returned to the home, we love in Mallorca, Spain. I remembered 6 months earlier, being wheeled through the airport, unable to walk and in the world of silence. Now I am walking pretty straight and with a head full of electronic noise. My brain is doing an amazing job of unravelling this data and month by month more pieces are falling into place. Bruno sounds like a dog, not a mobile phone and the kids voices are no longer cartoon chip monks. I am discovering sounds each week, its quite a geeky buzz to recognise new ones. The sea sounds like the sea but music is still a mystery.

I can swim, run and hike, with little grace, though riding a bike I feel will remain a comedy to see.

One-on-one communication, in a quiet place is very doable and will get better as my lip reading and brains digital data understanding improves. It's notable that how someone sounds is really not so important. The warmth and passion of a conversation genuinely still comes across. I often miss the conversation point but life seems a lot more interesting this way. Just don't trust my gossip!

My family seems intact. The kids, like all kids, accept and adapt. Ulrica, my wife, is emerging from the rubble too. Our family structure was turned over and I became a dependent not a provider. I couldn't walk, call, hear etc. This is better and my independence is back. We miss the spontaneity of conversation but still have a laugh. If my communication isn't better in 6 months then we are learning sign language. It's technically as rich as any spoken language. The love is still strong.

It takes effort to communicate with me so often group decisions are just made and changes of plan are often a surprise. I see the same in the way we all treat our elders. We are in too much of a rush to take the time to involve them properly (our maybe this is just my poor old Mum!) .
We are all disabled to some degree. We are all some way short of the perfect human being, whether it be intelligence, fitness, social skills, etc. This adventure has made me consciously more inclusive to others and look for the positives, not the negatives.

I won't be posting for a while. Hope this helped someone. It was good therapy for me to write and I would be happy if someone in need of my limited council would seek it.

Thanks all.
Andy