Have you ever woken up after a night’s sleep and heard birds singing a pleasant song through your open window? So happens, there’s a term for all those birdsongs: the dawn chorus. For whatever reason, birds see the sun rising and choose to start belting out their favorite songs. The songs of these birds, when they’re all singing together, are a lovely symphony.
But you may not hear the “dawn chorus” at all if you have neglected hearing loss. Which is a shame.
There are lots of amazing sounds during the summer besides birdsongs that you might be missing. And if you find yourself oblivious to the sounds of summer, it might be due to some undiagnosed (or diagnosed and ignored) hearing loss. But you can begin to enjoy all of those amazing summer sounds again with the help of a device like a hearing aid.
Summer sounds
When you think about summer, you likely begin by visualizing the sun in a blue sky. And, a really, really hot sun (whew). But if you stick with your imagination a bit longer, you’ll begin incorporating details that make this blue sky feel more like summer, the sounds that fill out the day. You might be thinking about:
- Bees buzzing around helping nature bloom by pollinating flowers.
- Peepers and crickets chirping a symphony as the sun goes down.
- Something as simple as your grandkids laughing, possibly as they run around the yard or as you watch a baseball game with each other.
- The sound of birds singing out mating songs. (Love songs are not just enjoyed by humans.)
- The crashing of waves on the beach (or a babbling creek if you’re in a more inland area).
You get the point. Summer is alive with amazing sounds. The feeling and vibe of summer are significantly enhanced by these sounds. And these sounds in and of themselves bring great joy.
It’s feasible that hearing loss may have crept up on you, especially if these or any other summer sounds sound to be different to you these days. If you have noticed your hearing loss then you need to get some help with it.
Hearing aids can help you enjoy summer
Building connections is what hearing aids are really about for most. Communication is key. You’ll be more mindful of what’s happening around you, better able to communicate with those around you, and enjoy the sounds in your life. And that’s especially important at those summer barbecues, for instance.
Contemporary hearing aids have some amazing technology that will help you bask in those summer sounds. For instance, most modern hearing aids provide:
- Rechargeability: Your battery will stay charged throughout the day after charging when you are sleeping at night. Essentially, you can charge your hearing aids in the same way you charge your cellphone. This also makes vacationing with hearing aids a lot easier.
- Bluetooth Connectivity: Out on the boat and want to enjoy some music? Just sync the boat’s radio to your hearing aids using Bluetooth.
- Machine learning: Your hearing aid can use “machine learning”, which are advanced intelligent algorithms, to adapt to your audio landscape before you even recognized it needed to. In loud environments or when eliminating particular sounds, this can be especially convenient.
- Automatic programming: You can program your modern hearing aids to automatically change settings depending on the time of day or setting you find yourself in. This feature makes them more effective and easier to use.
- Smartphone compatibility: You can begin to enjoy all kinds of features by connecting your hearing aid to your smartphone. Depending on the specific hearing situation, you will be able to control the settings on your hearing aids using an app you can download on most cell phones.
- Noise reduction: You’ll want to have hearing aids that can sort through specific sounds (your ears used to do this) so you can appreciate those crashing waves without having the traffic behind you amplified too. Modern hearing aids have significant noise reduction capabilities, so you can hear what you really want to hear.
You can ask us about how your set of hearing aids are appropriate for your favorite activities (for instance, you can ask whether you can use them while you’re going for a swim or hiking up a mountain, that sort of thing). Hearing aids and water-sports don’t always get along. But in general, your hearing aids will make your summer an all around richer experience.
You’ll also want to ask us some standard questions about your hearing aid models. Will your hearing aids have an issue with hot weather, for instance? And you should also ask, how do I protect my hearing aids from humidity? Depending on the model of hearing aid, the answer to these questions will differ.
Maybe avoid these sounds
Some summer sounds, unlike the dawn chorus, will be harmful to your hearing and you should make sure to steer clear of them. These are sounds that are, well, loud! And they’re harmful to everyone’s ears, not just individuals who have pre-existing hearing loss. Some of those sounds include:
- Boat engines: Be careful of how close you get and how long you spend near these engines because they’re very loud. Try not to keep the motor idling when you’re fishing. Or, even better, put in some earplugs for the entirety of your boat trip.
- Fireworks: Dogs have the right idea. Going to fireworks shows can certainly harm your ears. This goes for both commercial and home launched fireworks. Best to just avoid fireworks altogether.
- Live music: Outdoor concerts are a great part of summer, but they can be harmful to your ears. So you may want to use some caution and be selective about which concerts you attend and use earplugs.
This list is not exhaustive. For people who are dealing with hearing loss, summer might have a few less of these noisy events.
But even with hearing loss you most likely won’t want to avoid every noisy summer event. So what’s the solution? Wearing ear protection is the best strategy. Putting in a set of earplugs before you go to any live music show can minimize a lot of the damage, for example. You just need to make certain you’re using reliable ear protection.
Have fun this summer and enjoy the sounds
If you have hearing loss, the sounds of summer may feel like they’re growing further and further away (even as the heat of summer becomes more and more oppressive). And that means you could miss a lot of the season’s joy.
So you may need to come in and see us if you want to be certain that you get the most from your summer. We will be able to figure out whether your hearing is waning or not, and what kind of hearing aid will best suit your needs.
So if you want to appreciate the dawn chorus, that’s where you need to begin. Because birdsongs are just the beginning of those awesome summer sounds.
Get the most out of your ears this summer and beyond. Call us for a hearing test and find out if hearing aids are the right choice for you.