2023-12-29 00:10:17
Mexico is one of the countries in Latin America with the highest production of fireworks. It is also one of the main attractions during the Christmas holidays. Although the truth is that the use of fireworks not only generates environmental pollution and increases the risk of burns, but is also a risk factor for developing acoustic trauma.
The human ear healthily tolerates sounds of 65 to 80 decibels (db). While at resonances above 110 db they reach irreversible damage to hearing. These types of frequencies are regularly emitted by pyrotechnics. The effects that detonations at distances less than 100 meters can lead to a hearing loss in one or both ears.
What is acoustic trauma?
He acoustic trauma What occurs due to high-pitched sounds occurs when there is a short-term exposure but of very high intensity, such as that emitted by pyrotechnics. There is also chronic acoustic trauma, which is the ongoing hearing loss and develops gradually over the years. For these types of cases, there are solutions that allow people to hear again thanks to technology.
The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that regular exposure to loud or prolonged noise can cause damage to sensory cells and other structures in the ear, resulting in hearing loss caused by noise.
The demand for fireworks increases during this season and with it the risks that affect the audition. These bright and noisy devices attract the attention of children and adults, who, when entering an environment with high-volume music and loud bangs, may go unnoticed by the injuries that these sounds could cause.
“It is extremely important that people know the damage that explosions caused by pyrotechnics can cause to the ears and above all that they know that only hearing health professionals will be able to give a timely and appropriate diagnosis for each case. The technology that currently exists allows us to have solutions that help many patients recover their hearing, through cochlear implants, which is a device that directly stimulates the auditory nerve by transforming acoustic signals into electrical signals,” says Dr. Fernando. Díaz, Manager of MED-EL Mexico.
Main symptoms of hearing loss due to acoustic trauma
Persistent ringing in the ears (tinnitus) Difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds Difficulty hearing or following conversations with other people Distortion of words or sounds Turning up the volume of music or TV more than usual Ear pain Ear bleeding and imbalance
How can you improve hearing?
Nowadays it is possible to improve the audition and hear again or hear for the first time thanks to the different devices that exist such as: hearing aids, cochlear implants, middle ear implants, non-implantable bone conduction system, among others.
Once the hearing solution is available, rehabilitation is a crucial step for patients and thanks to technology it is possible to further refine the needs of each person, whether to optimize sounds, Adaptive Intelligence, apps for mobile devices, rechargeable and long-lasting batteries, etc.
These joyful dates are to be enjoyed with the whole family and loved ones. Therefore, it is important to take into account the risk factors involved in high-intensity sounds, present in loud music and the explosions of fireworks. It is essential to go to specialists when hearing anomalies are detected, since only they will be able to give the best diagnosis, since the cause of the hearing loss, the symptoms and the degrees of deafness are different in each situation.
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