Common Sounds & Decibels
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June 13, 2000
The ear's natural ability to defend itself from loud sounds is often NOT fast enough to override the deafening short blast from fireworks.
That's why audiologists are offering some advice to you if you're planning fireworks celebrations this summer.
Science Specialist Ed Yeates explains the risks and relays the warning.
48-year-old Dan Bird cannot recognize all of the words from audiologist Michael Walker because his hearing was damaged by a high-pitched sound of a turbine. The condition is called Tinnitus.
DAN BIRD: "A HIGH-PITCHED RING THAT JUST KEEPS RINGING AND THEN THERE WAS A CLICKING WITH IT. THE CLICKING WOULD COME AND GO BUT THE HIGH-PITCHED RINGING STAYED CONSTANT ALL THE TIME."
While Dan's hearing loss is permanent - audiologists are seeing short-term problems from amplified sounds at concerts and other events. One Utah man had ringing in his ears for almost six months after hearing short interval blasts from ground-based fireworks at last year's Stadium of Fire celebration.
BYU Sound researcher Scott Sommerfeldt says the ear has a protective mechanism to diffuse loud sounds - but impulsive short blasts from fireworks may reach the ear too fast - before the mechanism can activate itself.
Michael Walker says damage can occur quickly as the intensity of a sound wave, which is measure in units called decibels, increases.
MICHAEL WALKER, MCD., AUDIOLOGIST, LDS HOSPITAL: "ABOUT 90 DECIBELS FOR EIGHT HOURS IS THE LIMIT YOU CAN STILL BE SAFE. YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT IF YOU GO UP THREE DB - YOU CAN ONLY BE IN IT FOUR HOURS. AND IF YOU GO UP ANOTHER THREE DB - YOU CAN ONLY BE IN IT AS HALF AGAIN AS LONG."
ED YEATES, SCIENCE SPECIALIST: "AUDIOLOGISTS SAY IN MOST SITUATIONS - EVERYTIME YOU DOUBLE YOUR DISTANCE FROM THE SOURCE OF THE SOUND - YOU DECREASE THE IMPACT OF THAT SOUND BY SIX DB'S."
If you can't distance yourself from the source of the sound - use protective ear plugs.
Some researchers now believe hearing loss may be caused not so much from age, but from continual non-protected exposure to loud sounds in the environment.
Common Sounds & Their Decibels
| Whisper |
20-30 db |
| Normal Conversation |
60 db |
| Traffic, Hair dryer |
80-90 db |
| Lawnmower, Power tool |
90 db |
| Snowmobile, Chain Saw |
100 db |
| Rock concert |
115 db |
| Firecracker, Jet Engine, Gun Blast |
130-140 db |
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