Some six million teenagers nationwide suffer some type of loss of hearing, and this number has increased considerably over the last 20 years. Besides the use of high-volume portable music players and cell phones, experts say that teens’ participation in marching band is another possible reason for damage to hearing. As nearly every urban high school and university has a marching band, participation is a quite common activity among teens.
Hazardous sound levels for teens. – Volume, or noise level, is measured in decibels (dB). Adults and children can suffer hearing loss from exposure to sounds over 85 dB. Some of the instruments in marching band can easily surpass the 85dB mark when the teens are practicing or performing. For example, Duke University students were exposed to decibel levels of 99 over a half hour during drumline practice. However, playing those instruments indoors for rehearsals can be even more harmful to teens’ hearing. Unfortunately, many youths don’t reduce the volume of their instruments when playing inside.
More veterans have hearing loss than non-veterans. – The CDC (Center for Disease Control) estimates that soldiers are 30 percent more likely to lose their hearing than civilians. Worse yet, those who served after 9/11 were found to be four times more likely to be afflicted with some sort of hearing impairment than nonveterans.