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Exposure to 115dB for any duration may pose a serious health risk



Are your ears in the danger zone?
If you have to shout to be heard, you're in a place where the sound is 85dB or more.


Hearing Risk by Activity





Inner Ear



Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)...

Heard of it? It's definitely not something you want. It's irreversible, usually painless, and can happen to anyone at any age. The damage is cumulative, so while initial symptoms may be temporary, hearing loss and related problems - such as ringing in your ears - can become permanent with enough recurring exposure.

The good news? It's how you listen that counts. We're definitely not telling you to pull the plug on the music you love. We just want you to rock smart now so that you can enjoy a lifetime of listening to great sounds.

You can prevent NIHL by controlling the volume and your exposure to loud sound.

Dude, are you losing it?

If you notice any of the following symptoms after listening to extreme sound, your ears may be over-exposed and potentially damaged.
  • Voices suddenly sound muffled and are hard to understand.

  • You experience ringing, buzzing or fluttering in one or both ears - a condition known as tinnitus, which can often accompany hearing damage.

  • Your ears hurt after being in a loud place.

  • Your hearing is suddenly super-sensitive to noise.

  • If symptoms last longer than a day, you should visit your doctor or an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist. Talk to your parents first if you're under the age of 18.

What can you do to listen longer?
  • Limit your exposure to sounds of 85dB (decibels) or louder. * An easy rule of thumb - if you need to shout to be heard, your hearing is likely in the danger zone somewhere above 85dB.

  • If your ears are stuck in the danger zone longer than the guidelines recommend (see pie chart above), be sure to tone down the sound with earplugs or earmuffs.

  • Take 15-minute "quiet" breaks every few hours.

  • If you play a musical instrument, avoid practicing at "concert levels." Put a reasonable amount of space between you and your amps.

Care to look inside?

Here's a whirlwind tour of what happens inside those mysterious appendages attached to both sides of your head:
  • When sound, a.k.a "acoustic energy," first enters your ear, it travels through your external ear canal to your eardrum, causing it to vibrate.

  • The vibration then travels along to a series of three bones in your middle ear chamber - the anvil, hammer, and stirrup.

  • The vibration of your middle ear bones transfers the sound energy to a small membrane that is the entrance to your inner ear.

  • Your inner ear contains approximately 15,000 microscopic cells, "hair cells," that respond to the incoming energy and transfer it to your brain so you can understand the sound. Those 15,000 tiny hair cells of yours are built to be tough, but they can be permanently damaged when they're blasted by extreme sound. The damage to those tiny hair cells is what causes you to lose your hearing.