As More Concerts Come To Montana, Protect Your Hearing

October is National Protect Your Hearing Month. I thought this would be a good time to remind you to protect your hearing.

Montana is getting more and more live shows every year. Rock, Country, Punk, and Pop shows. Amphitheaters, stadiums, clubs, field houses and more. I have been going to concerts for a long time, every since I could afford to go to a show. I am not going to name drop all of the great shows I have seen here in Montana over the decades, or even the bad ones, but there have been a lot of them. Most of them all had one thing in common and that is they were all loud.

Sometimes too loud. I guess that means I am too old. There have been some shows that have been so loud that I would have ringing in my ears for days after. When going to a show, the one thing that I didn't think about was protecting my hearing. Now as I am getting older I am regretting that decision. It doesn't help that I also use headphones for my job in radio. Over the years I have had to turn those things up a little bit louder to hear my work.

To add to my situation, I play tenor drum in a bagpipe band and they get loud too. All of those things have contributed to my decline in hearing. I am not deaf, and I don't have constant ringing in my ears, but I have noticed a decline in one particular ear. The CDC has some simple ways to prevent hearing loss especially for younger people and some frequently asked questions. As we get older I recommend getting your hearing checked and with it being "Rocktober" it is a good time to remind you all to protect your hearing wear those ear plugs to a show. Trust me, you will still be able to hear the show and hopefully many years later you will still be able to hear the music.