{"id":272206,"date":"2025-12-12T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horendgoed.nl\/geen-onderdeel-van-een-categorie\/fireworks-an-underestimated-danger-to-your-ears\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T14:10:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T13:10:59","slug":"fireworks-an-underestimated-danger-to-your-ears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horendgoed.nl\/en\/products\/fireworks-an-underestimated-danger-to-your-ears\/","title":{"rendered":"Fireworks: an underestimated danger to your ears"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New Year’s Eve. The sky full of colors, bangs thumping through your chest and that typical mixture of gunpowder and oil balls in the air. It’s party time – but for your ears, it’s anything but fun. What many people don’t know is that a single firework blast can permanently damage your hearing. Yes, really. You protect your eyes with fireworks glasses, but your ears? Those are often forgotten. Until suddenly, after midnight, a squeak lingers…. <\/p>\n\n

In this blog, we dive into exactly what fireworks do to your ears, why hearing protection is not a luxury, and how to prevent your party from ending up with permanent hearing damage.<\/p>\n\n

How loud are fireworks anyway?<\/h2>\n\n

Let’s start with some numbers – because they don’t lie. An average firecracker quickly produces 120 decibels<\/strong>. That’s comparable to a plane taking off at close range. And a large ornamental firecracker bomb? That one can even reach 160 decibels<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

By comparison, at about 80 decibels<\/strong>, you are already at risk of hearing damage if you are exposed to it for an extended period of time. And at 130 decibels<\/strong>, damage can occur immediately – literally within a split second. In short: fireworks are not only beautiful, they are also an ear-splitting assault on your hearing. <\/p>\n\n

And because sound enters your skull not only through the ear canal but also through vibrations, putting hands on your ears hardly helps. Your brain simply registers that blow. <\/p>\n\n

What happens in your ear during a loud bang?<\/h2>\n\n

Your hearing works with microscopic cilia in the cochlea. These convert sound vibrations into electrical signals so your brain can understand them as sound.A fireworks display causes a sudden, extremely loud blast wave. This literally flattens those cilia – and some even break off. <\/p>\n\n

The nasty thing is: those hair cells don’t grow back.<\/strong> What’s gone, is gone. Result: hearing loss, often in the higher tones, or a permanent squeak(tinnitus<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n

And yes, that can happen after a single bang. One moment of inattention on New Year’s Eve can be enough for a lifetime of lulling souvenirs. <\/p>\n\n

Fireworks and distance: how far is “safe”?<\/h2>\n\n

Many people think, “Oh well, I’m far enough away.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that simply. Sound does decrease with distance, but a fireworks explosion is so loud that dangerous sound levels can be reached even at tens of meters away. <\/p>\n\n