Many people associate November with Thanksgiving, but that isn’t the only event. It’s also the start of hunting season for white-tailed deer, mule deer and more! If you’re planning a trip to your favorite hunting spot around Katy, it’s worth thinking about how hearing aids can enrich your experience.
Sharpening Environmental Awareness
When you’re hunting, you rely on your ears to alert you to rustling leaves, snapping branches or the flutter of wings that let you know when an animal is nearby. Untreated hearing loss can dull these essential sounds. In fact, bird song is often one of the first sounds to disappear as hearing loss develops.
Hearing aids bring some of that essential sound back to life, allowing you to keep an ear out so you don’t miss the hidden birds or deer.
Improving Safety
Safety is the top priority on any hunting trip. New hunters review gun or bow safety and learn about the rules and regulations for hunting, ensuring everyone involved stays safe and alert. For hunters with hearing loss, an essential part of that safety is wearing hearing aids.
Your devices will help you understand verbal directions, such as a fellow hunter calling out an animal or giving you instructions. That added awareness makes a significant difference in your safety and that of the people around you.
Hearing Aids and Earmuffs
Small-caliber rifles, air rifles, pistols and shotguns can reach volumes of up to 140 decibels (dB). Larger options can hit more than 175 dB. For reference, hearing damage can occur from exposure to sounds at or above 85 dB. The louder the sound, the shorter the amount of time it takes to cause hearing loss. Sounds at or above 120 decibels can cause immediate damage to the ears.
Because the possibility of hearing damage is so high, it’s crucial to wear earmuffs when hunting. Luckily, hearing aids fit nicely under earmuffs, providing you with awareness and protection simultaneously.
Whether you’re an avid hunter or you’re just starting out, contact Davies Institute for Speech & Hearing today to schedule a hearing test. If you have hearing loss, we’ll fit you with the perfect pair of hearing aids. If you don’t, we’ll have a great baseline to measure future hearing tests against, allowing us to catch damage early.