Loud lawn equipment, fireworks, gunfire...

As summer nears, the American Academy of Audiology is warning the public to protect its hearing when exposed to loud outdoor sounds—from fireworks to lawn equipment to road equipment, blasting and gunfire, many of these are dangerous for hearing.

As temperatures increase across the country and more regions open up to outdoor shopping and dining, more Americans will be spending a greater amount of time outdoors. At the same time, the numbers of Americans facing hearing loss is at a record high and rising annually.

Academy representative to the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) Richard Danielson, PhD, shares the recently published NHCA guideline, Best Practices Guidelines for Safely Conducting Hearing Testing During the COVID-19 Pandemic.