Sound Advice: How to Prevent Muffled Hearing After a Concert
- December 31, 2024
What Causes This Temporary Deafness?
Concerts expose your ears to high-decibel sound waves that arrive in your ear with a surprising amount of force. This can cause the very sensitive hair cells in your inner ear to bend over, impairing their ability to do their job – picking up sound waves and converting them into the electrical signals your brain understands.
This is known as Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS). In addition to the world sounding muted or muffled, it can cause temporary tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing sound in your ears.
How Long Does Muffled Hearing Last After a Concert?
It usually takes a few days, sometimes longer, for your ears to heal and your hair cells to return to normal. If your symptoms persist, it could be a sign of permanent hearing loss. Don’t panic – schedule a hearing evaluation with your audiologist! If there is damage, the sooner you know, the sooner you can start a treatment plan to prevent further damage and tap into assistive technology like hearing aids if necessary.
How to Prevent Permanent Ear Damage
They say the best defense is a good offense, and that holds true when protecting your ears, too. Instead of reacting afterward, it’s best to take common-sense precautions to prevent damage from occurring in the first place. The basic steps for protecting your hearing during a celebration are pretty much the same.
Keep your distance from the source of the sound: as a rule, prolonged exposure to any sounds over 70 dB can cause loss – over 100 dB, it’s all but guaranteed. If you have to shout to be heard by someone standing next to you, it’s too loud. Take breaks if you can; even just stepping out of the concert hall for a bathroom break can give your ears a chance to recover.
If you do only one thing, invest in some good-quality hearing protection. For concerts, where you obviously don’t want to mute the sound entirely, it could be worthwhile to investigate earplugs designed for musicians. These give you professional-quality protection while still allowing you to get your groove on.
After the concert, whether you’re experiencing TTS or not, give your ears a break by avoiding loud noises for a day or two.
Your Hearing Health Starts Here
If you’re experiencing muffled hearing after a concert, especially if it persists for longer than a few days, your audiologist is here to help. And even if you’re not, regular checkups will help create a baseline and pick up any changes over time. This is especially important when you’re over the age of 60 or have already been diagnosed with some level of hearing loss. Get proactive – contact our team for assessments and expert advice on ear protection.
