Protect Your Ears : Avoid Headphones for a Few Days Before and After the Festival
Diwali, the festival of lights, also brings with it the tradition of bursting firecrackers, which adds to the celebratory atmosphere but also generates a significant amount of noise pollution. This noise can pose risks to hearing health, especially when exposure is prolonged. To protect your hearing, it’s best to avoid using headphones or earbuds for a few days before and after Diwali, even though some might assume headphones could block out the sound of crackers. Here’s why:
Risk of Hearing Loss
•The ear is vulnerable to high-decibel sounds, like firecrackers, as it cannot recover easily from these high-intensity sounds.
•Adding headphone use on top of this can worsen the strain on the ears, especially if you usually listen at high volumes. In fact, typical headphone users often listen at volumes that range between 90 to 110 dB, far above what is considered to be safe for prolonged listening.
•The inner ear is a sensitive organ and, in case its structures are damaged, the outcome could be temporary or permanent damage and hence tinnitus, hearing fatigue, and even in extreme cases, loss of hearing.
Why You Shouldn’t Use Headphones
•Others might feel that with the headphones, the noise from the crackers will be covered. But our ear structure, particularly the pinna, will pick the ambient sounds even when we put on headphones.
•Drowning out the crackers with loud music does not keep the damage from going into your ears, it simply adds to the total sound exposure and may make matters worse.
Ear Health Safety Practice
•Limit loud noise exposure: If allowed, stay indoors when crackers are sounding off in full throttle and do not employ headphones.
•Wear ear protection: If you have to go outdoors, earplugs or earmuffs are effective noise blockage. These are also better options than headphones since the earplugs reduce incoming decibel levels rather than increasing them.
•Reduce volume: Even after Diwali, when using your headphones again, limit volume to below 60% of maximum capacity as prolonged exposure can cause harm.
This can be achieved by taking a break from headphone use and by following these precautions to ensure your hearing health during Diwali and further into the future. But it’s not just the festival season-it’s an essential part of your life that will keep you enjoying sounds without damaging them.