Recreational exposure to noise and its effects

Many efforts have been made lately to combat occupational noise exposure, and the situation in many industries concerning noise preventive measures seems promising. Conversely, the situation seems less promising with regard to noise exposure in recreational activities, There are reasons to raise concerns about noisy activities such as personal cassette players, pop and rock concerts, car stereos, motor sports, and shooting activities. For most of the musically oriented activities the situation is probably generally satisfactory. Even if the sound levels frequently are very high, the exposure time and number of exposures per year is limited. For impulsive noisy activities, however, the situation is more serious. For example, the impulsive noise in connection with the use of weapons, firecrackers, and toy cap guns when ear protection is not used may lead to a permanent noise-induced hearing loss under accidental conditions. The general attitude concerning recreational noisy activities should obviously be to strive for lower sound levels, limited exposure, and better use of hearing protection. (C) 1996 Institute of Noise Control Engineering.