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Every weekend thousands of kiwis are putting their hearing in jeopardy by undertaking seemingly innocuous home and garden Do it Yourself projects.
One in three DIYers potentially damage their hearing through weekend home improvement pursuits and with just over half the country regularly involved with DIY, some 700,000 kiwis are seriously at risk of damaging their hearing.
The National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) has revealed these facts after the results of their latest survey, commissioned in the lead-up to the Hearing Week 2010 and are delivering a clear message for people who engage in home improvement activities – always wear hearing protection.
Louise Carroll, General Manager of the NFD says that being a nation that loves to mow lawns, fire up the leaf blower or undertake home renovations, it is crucial to educate people on the damage these activities can potentially have on our hearing. “Prolonged exposure to excessive noise can lead to hearing damage or even permanent hearing loss. While this may not threaten lives, it has a major impact on a person’s quality of life. It is so easy to avoid any damage by simply wearing earmuffs or earplugs,” says Ms Carroll.
Stephanie Mears, Senior Audiologist from Bay Audiology: “You do not need to be exposed to DIY tools for long periods to cause hearing damage. A series of sudden loud sounds from a nail gun could potentially cause as much damage as spending the weekend cutting up firewood with a chainsaw.
“Don’t forget those around you are also at risk from DIY noise. If children or family members are nearby while you’re carrying out DIY activities, their hearing could be damaged and they should either be at a safe distance or wearing some sort of protection,” says Ms Mears.
“If you ever experience tinnitus – a ringing, buzzing or humming in the ears - following DIY activities, then you may have already damaged your hearing. Even if you are fortunate enough for the tinnitus to dissipate over time, the delicate hair cells of the inner ear have been irreparably injured.”
Even though responsible DIYers are taking precautions to protect their own hearing, a disturbing 38 per cent allow their children to be exposed to dangerous levels of noise. The survey also revealed DIYers are not just “home handymen” with 53 per cent of respondents being female. Statistically females show a disregard for hearing safety more than men when it comes to wearing hearing protection.
Hearing protection such as earmuffs are readily available from hardware stores and power tool suppliers, earplugs can be purchased from chemists or through the Hearing Association website www.hearwell.co.nz
Top Ten DIY Noises - Decibel Level *(averaged across make, model etc)
- Lawn Mower 95 dB +
- Hammer nails into wood 127 dB
- Weed Trimmer 105 dB
- Drilling with an Electric Drill 80 dB + (operated very close to ears)
- Leaf Blower / Vacuum 110 dB
- Cutting wood with an Electric Saw 100 dB +
- Sanding with an Electric Sander 101 dB
- Chainsaw 110 dB +
- Power Tools (Grinder, Planers, Routers) 104 – 113 dB
- Water Blaster 95 – 103 dB
* These values are indicative only, and have been collected from a range of sources. Accurate measurement and expression of noise levels involves frequency weighting and time averaging. Hearing damage risk depends on these factors as well as the noise level.
Decibel Level Comparison Chart dB Sound Effect on hearing
140 Shot gun blast Sounds above 130 dB may cause pain
130 Jet taking off Sounds above 115 dB may cause instant
damage
110 Rock group or trail bike
100 Pneumatic drill or MP3 player at top volume Continued
exposure to sounds over 80 dB leads to permanent hearing loss
90 Heavy truck
80 Busy street or loud radio
70 Noisy office Brief exposure to sounds over 80 dB may cause temporary hearing loss
60 Normal conversation
40 Quiet office or home
30 Soft whisper
15 Average hearing threshold Below 80 dB, you can work an 8-hour day
0 Acute hearing threshold without using ear protection
Always wear hearing protection in high noise environments - if you think it might be too loud, it probably is.
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