YORK, Pa. — Fireworks are fun to see, but maybe not to hear.
Experts say they can actually damage your ears.
"I have seen hearing loss from fireworks many times over the years of my profession at WellSpan," said Dr. Carla Pielmeier of WellSpan Health.
She says the greatest risk is not from the professional fireworks displays but from the fireworks people use themselves in backyards.
The American Academy of Audiology has a scale to designate noise levels from between one to seven, with one being soft sounds such as whispers. In the middle of that scale is 85 decibels, which can cause hearing loss if exposed to it long enough.
"Eighty-five decibels is not as loud as you think... that could be a vacuum cleaner, or alarms in our homes... so it's not all that loud," said Dr. Pielmeier.
Dr. Pielmeier has worked for decades as an audiologist and knows that fireworks, however, are in the seventh category and can get up to 130 decibels.
"Just one blast close enough can cause hearing loss," she said.
What to do to prevent this from happening to you may sound like a no-brainer.
Dr. Pielmeier suggests watching the fireworks from inside your house or in your car. If you can't do that, she says get good quality ear plugs. You can even have them designed specifically to fit your ears if you see an audiologist. They don't have to be made for you, though. Like many things, just having something to protect you is better than nothing.