Hello,
I had a medical for my new job yesterday which included a hearing test. The results were quite interesting.
The test was for different frequencies and a score of 0 indicated normal hearing for your age group for that frequency. My left ear scored -5's for all ranges, meaning it is better than average. My right ear however, scored 25 to 35's across the freq ranges.
This is quite bad apparently, with a score of 60 resulting in noticeable problems with hearing in that ear, and 90 meaning people would need to shout in your ear to hear them.
It may be coincidence but the only reason I can think that would cause the difference between my two ears is karting, with the engine being on the right hand side. I have never worn ear protection, am only 21 and have only done 4 years worth of karting, 2 years in cadets and the last 2 years in rotax, with some club 100 (BUKC) for good measure.
The problem is, if I hadn't had this test, I probably would not have noticed any problems for another 5 - 10 years. My worry is that kids are damaging their hearing without realising it. I mean, sitting next to a 90+ db engine for 2 hours a weekend can't be good with no protection.
It could be a coincidence and my right ear is just naturally worse, but it won't get any better, so I'll be wearing ear plugs from now on.
Rob
|
|