Friday, November 8, 2013

Hunting & Hearing Health




Written by Courtney Morrison, Audiologist 

It’s that time of year again, when many folks around New Brunswick don camouflage and orange and take to the woods.

Many hunters do not realize the importance of protecting their hearing while hunting. Most firearms produce noise greater than 140 decibels (dB), with larger rifles producing up to 175 dB. For comparison, conversational speech is generally 65 dB and lawn mowers and snowblowers are approximately 106 dB. A single exposure to the level of noise produced by a firearm can be enough to permanently damage your hearing system.

Hearing loss resulting from excessive noise is generally permanent and high-pitched in nature. Individuals with this type of loss have trouble hearing certain sounds of speech, making it less clear, muffled or mumbled. Noise-induced hearing loss is often accompanied by a high-pitched and constant tinnitus which can be very bothersome for some people.

In hunters, it is common to find the hearing in one ear is worse than the other. In right-handed shooters, the left ear is closer to the barrel of the gun and often suffers the most damage, as the head provides a somewhat protective effect.

Hearing is an important sense when hunting; luckily there are types of hearing protection available that can prevent damage from loud impulse noises, while still allowing you to hear the rustling of leaves and other non-damaging sounds. 

Electronic hearing protection devices amplify soft ambient sounds from the environment but shut off when there is a loud noise. They are most readily available in the form of earmuffs and start at approximately $50.

Non-linear hearing protection devices are non-electronic and can be custom made for your ears. A filter inside the custom mold or earplug allows soft sounds to pass through, but blocks out loud sounds over a certain noise level. Custom-made non-linear devices are $120 and can be ordered from your audiologist.

Prevention of noise-induced hearing loss, particularly related to recreational noise exposure, has recently become of great interest to me. Although he is only in his early 20s, my brother has the beginning signs of noise-induced hearing loss. A ringing noise in his left ear led him to have his hearing tested where it was found he has a dip in his hearing at 4 kHz; the characteristic “noise notch”. He has since become much more conscious of his hearing and routinely uses his electronic earmuffs when he is hunting or target-shooting; protecting his ears and keeping his audiologist-sister happy.