It's World Radio Day today! This year's theme is "Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace" so turn up the radio and enjoy listening! Whether you listen to the radio for the latest news and events, or for talk back and music, take time to celebrate the impact radio has in our lives today. 

Having trouble listening to the radio? It may be time for a hearing check then. Contact the clinic today for a comprehensive assessment. 

Today’s post will be a bit different then my usual write-ups. Rather than focusing on a main topic, I thought I’d answer a couple of questions recently asked by my clients.
 
Question: How often should I have my hearing tested?

Answer: It is typically recommended for adults to have their hearing tested every 3-5 years up until the age of 50 when it drops to every 2 years. After the age of 60, it’s advised that your hearing be checked as part of your annual overall health check-up.

​For children born in Australia, their hearing will be screened shortly after birth (in NSW, it’s known as the Statewide Infant Screening of Hearing or SWISH program) and should be monitored throughout their school years. As a general rule of thumb, it is recommended children have their hearing tested prior to starting kindergarten and Year 7, and before beginning tertiary education to establish their baselines of hearing. In the case of infants who have certain medical conditions, speech/language concerns or a family history of hearing loss, more frequent hearing tests may be required.

If you think yourself or a family member is due for a hearing assessment, feel free to contact the clinic to see one of our audiologists and have your hearing checked today. 
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Question: Is it bad for me to listen to music through my headphones?

Answer: While listening to music/podcasts/audio itself isn’t bad, the bigger concern is how loud and for how long are you listening. Generally speaking, the louder the volume you are listening to, the shorter the period of time you can spend listening to it before it starts causing damage. The overall amount of daily exposure to noise is also important to be aware of as these levels take into account our exposure from both occupational and recreational settings. For example, listening to a personal audio device at a volume of 85 decibels may allow you to be exposed to it for 8 hours before it starts causing damage. Should you then decide to use some equipment with a volume around 100 decibels, then you can be exposed for only around 15 minutes.

Consider headphones which are either active and/or passive noise cancelling to reduce the volume of background noise and thus the need to increase volumes. Click here to check out our previous blog post on headphones. Being more aware of how loud noise and music can get is important too (information can be found here ). At the end of the day, if you look after your ears now and you’ll be listening to those sweet tunes for many years to come.

NB - Be environmentally aware when you are wearing headphones! Watch out for your surroundings.