Fireworks also damage the ears

According to a study by SafetyNL Among more than 2,000 Dutch people between the ages of 20 and 75, 6 percent of adults who set off fireworks or watched outside the home suffered some form of hearing damage at the turn of the year. This includes a ringing in the ear, deafness, a dull feeling or distortion of sound. Only 15 percent of the adult Dutch people who set off fireworks last New Year's Eve used hearing protection, compared to only 4 percent of watching adults. A single loud bang can destroy all things in your ear, and you usually notice it immediately. But even if you don't feel it right away, you can suffer hearing damage. After all, every person can only handle a certain amount of too loud noise.

More than 500,000 people with permanent hearing damage every year

In the Netherlands, more than 500,000 people suffer permanent hearing damage every year due to the loud bursts of fireworks. Loud pops - including decorative fireworks - can seriously damage your hearing. The tone - ringing or ringing - in your ear damages the hair cells that capture and convert the vibrations of sound. These damages are irreparable. If you hear a beep, you have certainly suffered some hearing damage. Even if the tone disappears again, your hearing has decreased. Sometimes people hear the beep or whizz permanently (tinnitus). The police and other emergency services only really recognized this risk this year. After the many cases of throwing fireworks (bombs) at the police resulting in severe hearing loss, hearing impairment or even deafness, the police received customized hearing protection reimbursed by the employer this year. reimbursed by the employer.

What is a safe distance?

The closer to the fireworks, the greater the risk. Even if you're just a spectator, your ears have a hard time. This is especially the case when it comes to heavier, illegal fireworks. That goes faster than 120 dB. In the event of a loud bang, you have to take a lot more distance and throw the fireworks away as far as possible. The use of otoplastics is therefore not an unnecessary luxury.