 With 2019 only hours away, millions of people around Australia will be converging on the major cities to get the best vantage point to see the amazing fireworks display their city has to offer. If you've ever experienced this, time stands still and seconds last for minutes while the ever present fireworks displays pierce the night sky. Sound Amazing?
Well as far as looks are concerned, fireworks definitely look amazing. Sound is a different kettle of fish and is what this article is concerned with. In recent times, researches and Audiologist alike have raised the profile of the need to protect one's ears from excessive loud noise. If you have ever been to a rock concert you will know what I'm talking about. In fact research shows that any sound from about 85 decibels and above will start to damage our ears. As the level of sound increases above this level, the accumulative damage occurs over a shorter period of time. In other words, 100 decibels of noise exposure will do the same damage as 85 decibels over a shorter period of time. So the question I hear you asking yourself: will the fireworks display damage my hearing? Well firstly, if you are concerned, the easiest way to still enjoy the night's festivities is to bring along some plugs (which you can get from the chemist). The best thing to do (too late for tonight) but to get custom ear plugs made from an Audiologist which can attenuate sound by up to 30-40 decibels across all frequencies. The truth of the matter is yes, fireworks are loud enough to do damage to the fine structures of your inner ear including the finite number of inner and outer hair cells within the cochlear. Distance is a HUGE part to play and the greater the distance the less damage you can expect. The World Health Organization says that hearing loss from loud noise (or noise induced hearing loss) is reaching epidemic proportions in wealthier nations and recommend that adults avoid sounds louder than 140 decibels of maximum sound pressure. Fireworks and firecrackers can exceed 150 decibels. As we just mentioned, sounds from about 85 decibels will start doing accumulative damage although louder sounds will do instant irreversible damage to your ears. Here are a few more tips to protect your hearing tonight:
For more information about hearing loss, please visit this website here. There is also a website that can tell you if your current lifestyle is doing damage to your hearing at knowyournoise.nal.gov.au Wishing everyone a healthy and awesome 2019, keywords: noise induced hearing loss, custom ear plugs, fireworks, tinnitus, ringing ears, unsafe noise, NYE
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 Water and wax have had a love hate relationship over the years. Many people believe including the Harvard Medical School that even a few drops of water directed inside the ear canal can help budge problematic wax. Related: Why Microsuction is The Best Way To Remove Earwax This might be the case for say soft wax. But what happens when the earwax is like a hard rock which is often the case when we see our patients? In our humble opinion, water could be more destructive than beneficial. Why I hear you ask? Well let's take two recent examples of patients in the last two days. Everyone knows that in the Summer the perfect place to go is the swimming pool to cool down. In Australia, swimming pools are packed to the rafter on hot days not to mention our beaches. In the last two days, we have had 2 patients that went swimming and only after after going swimming did their ears become blocked and the need for treatment become necessary. In both cases these patients had dry hard rock-like wax in their ears. So what's going on? My hypothesis is that despite the excessive wax in each of these patients' ears, there was probably still a (ever so small) gap between the earwax and the wall of the ear canal. Large enough for even a small drop of water to block. Hence the instantaneous blocked feeling these patients felt upon immersing themselves in the swimming pool. Back-up a minute. You're probably asking well if water is so bad for the ears, why do GPs use water syringing to dislodge earwax? Well the simple answer is they shouldn't. A study published by the RACGP (Australia's Head GP Association) admitted that syringing carries several risks and should only be administered under certain conditions several of which that will be mentioned below. It also mentioned the astonishing fact that 1 in 5 medico-legal cases involving GP malpractice is do to problems arising from water syringing. If this no warning signal to the dangers of water syringing then you are braver than me. Water that can become trapped inside the ear canal can give rise to outer ear infections that can be both bacterial and fungal in nature. For some, this can mean months of prescribed ear drop use, avoidance of water in the ears (so no swimming :( ) and hearing problems that can make anyone lose their mind. In summary, use water in your ears for earwax at your own peril. Whilst for some this may be a quick way to remove wax, for many, it will just push the wax further in or even worse, give birth to an infection. We can never be too sure of the sterility of the water we use even when boiling it. So why risk it? If you would like to have your ears Professional Cleaned using Quick, Safe, Precise & Gentle Microsuction Earwax Removal, then look no further than Ear Suction Clinic, your Perth earwax removal specialists. keywords: microsuction, perth, earwax removal perth, safe earwax removal, water syringing perth
 If hot weather melts normal wax (e.g the stuff candles are made out of) then logic would dictate that this happens to earwax right? Well actually no. The substance in our ears called ceruman otherwise known as ear wax has a completely different chemical makeup to normal wax found in candles. Earwax consists of shedded skin cells, hair, and the secretions of the ceruminous and sebaceous glands of the external auditory meatus. Major components of earwax are long chain fatty acids, both saturated and unsaturated, alcohols, squalene, and cholesterol.
If you think about it, the average temperature of a human body is between 36.5 and 37.5 degrees Celsius. The typical Summer's day in most Australian towns and cities will at most will be around the 34-40 degree mark although in can vary greatly from day to day. In other words, our earwax is used to warm conditions on a daily basis and we still see plenty of patients here at Ear Suction Clinic with a build of hard wax. It is also another reason ear candles don't work and are a gimmick. If you want to treat your ears to the best and not muck around with home remedies, we suggest you book an appointment with Ear Suction Clinic for a quick, gentle & thorough microsuction earwax removal experience. Call 1300 380 060 or book online. |
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December 2018
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