Oh Lord Ganesh, protect our ears on road in the Festival …!

Should we hesitate to take care of our ears while walking on road in the Festival starting tomorrow ? These days, on a busy street, the speaker volumes during Ganesh Idol Procession or Mandals are kept so high with Sound Pressure Levels crossing 100 dBA that over a long duration, there is a possibility of serious damage to our ears as warned by WHO (World Health Organization)… !

As per Mayo Clinic USA and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) , beyond 90 dBA, it is a serious risk to inner parts of our ear.. And a below Table shows that last year, on the last day of Ganesh Festival, the levels were as high as 118 dB in Mumbai; Drums produce high frequency sound often close to resonance frequency of acoustic cavity inside the human ear-canal. Whatever sound is heard by us gets amplified by the ear-canal in freq. range 2000 to 4000 Hz and see below their ill-effects:

If we are walking past a procession with large volumes of Loudspeakers, let us walk very Fast to go away from the harsh sound source, or use ear plugs or simply put palms on our ear-drum without being ashamed of it! No need of showing heroism at this moment! Nobody will come to sympathize us after anyone of above 7 symptoms will be showing up with us.

If we are riding a motor-cycle, a helmet will save our ears! In a car, with windows closed, we should be safe inside thanks to 30 dB attenuation across the glasses .

Let us NEVER take babies & children close to the loudspeakers or fire-crackers ….. since they have smaller ear canals, resulting into the more amplification in the higher frequencies inside the middle ear or canal.