New At This Year's Air And Water Show...Free Ear Plugs!

"Millions of hearing hair cells are dying, "says Chicago audiologist Dr. Ronna Fisher Au.D. "If you're lucky the ringing will stop and your hair cells will recover."

But studies suggest some spectators at this year's Chicago Air and Water Show won't be lucky. A Blue Angel F-18 Hornet 500 feet up exposes a spectator to 105-130 decibels of noise.

"That's more than enough to cause hearing damage," says Dr. Fisher.

The government says exposure to 15 minutes of noise above 100 decibels is unsafe. Average noise levels at air shows are 92 decibels[1] (like being next to a power drill or diesel truck). What's more Chicagoans will be exposed to those levels for up to five hours!

 Dr. Fisher says, "We treat hearing loss. But in this case we also feel obligated to prevent it."

For that reason the Hearing Health Center will be giving out free earplugs at this year's event to any spectator who wants one. The staff will distribute the ear protection at tables scattered throughout the crowd. The Hearing Health Center located in downtown Chicago, Oak Brook, Naperville, and Highland Park.

Dr. Fisher says the ear plugs are especially important for children. Since a young child's ear canal is much shorter than an adult's, the sound pressure entering the ear is greater. An infant can perceive the same sound up to 20 decibels louder than an adult does. That's a main reason why early exposure to loud sounds is the single biggest cause of hearing loss later in life.

But adults also need ear plugs. In fact, Dr. Fisher says in one sense children protect their ears better than their parents. "The ears of adults gradually lose their response to loud sounds," says the audiologist. "You'll often see that at an air show. When a jet flies by, children will instinctively cover their ears to protect them, but not their parents."

But if air shows are so potentially dangerous why don't more spectators wear ear protection?

Dr. Fisher thinks the same mistaken stigma that applies to hearing aids may also apply to hearing protection, namely that they're a sign of age or weakness. In the case of children that stigma was partially overcome when millions of viewers saw quarterback Drew Bree's infant son covered with hearing protection after the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl victory (noise levels in the Superdome reach over 100 decibels).

The free ear plugs will also protect Chicagoans from the loudest noise nature can produce....a sonic boom. A sonic boom exposes ground spectators to up to 160 decibels of noise. While the sonic boom from a military jet lasts only one-tenth of a second, that can still be long enough to have lasting effects.

Dr. Fisher says, "If parents of toddlers are really concerned, the Blue Angels and other loud jets perform at the end of the show. Parents can just grab their kids a little early and watch from inside their cars."

"At the least," says Dr. Fisher, "wearing ear plugs at this event is a must. We've purchased thousands of ear plugs to give away for free. If we can hand out every single one, no one will be happier than me."

[1] Noise exposure of spectators at Finnish air shows

Applied Acoustics Vol 62:2 pages 121-127 Feb 2003