Watch the Game and Protect Your Hearing

The summer season is brimming with outdoor events. Sporting events like baseball and soccer, music concerts and festivals and of course fourth of July fireworks may find their way onto your summer calendar. Your ears, not just your eyes, are important for enjoying these events to the fullest.

Sporting events

Pack a pair of ear plugs to mute the loud sounds that are common to a stadium or ball park. While you don’t want to miss a single sound or crack of the bat, loud crowd noise, music and other sounds common to sporting events can hurt your ears.

If you wear hearing aids, talk to your audiologist about what settings will help you hear you best during a sporting event where there are many competing sounds. You may also want to contact the stadium to see if they have any accommodations for those with hearing difficulties. While sports venues don’t always print the information on their websites, you can contact the venue office for information.

Concerts

You might be surprised but even an outdoor concert can be hazardous to your hearing. Again, just like with a sporting event it is important to pack ear protection. If you have hearing loss, be sure to talk to those who are attending with you. It may be difficult to communicate once the music gets going. Set your plans prior so you can be sure to be on the same page. You can even agree to use text messages or grab a small pen and paper if you need to communicate during a particularly loud moment.

Fireworks

Because firework displays are typically high in the sky, most are surprised that these displays can still hurt your ears. Packing a pair of ear plugs to wear will help both your eyes and ears enjoy the show!

This summer season throw an extra set of ear plugs in your bag or pocket and then get out and enjoy that concert, ballgame or celebration!