Audiologists Found That Driving Noise Impacts Personal Sound Preferences

Listening to music in the car is a common experience. Nearly everyone who spends time driving will put on some music in the car, whether it’s for a road trip or a daily commute.

However, loud driving noises can impede your ability to hear the music. So you turn it up, but you notice that it still doesn’t quite sound right. What’s going on? Our blog will explore how increased driving noise can affect your sound preferences.

How Driving Noise Impacts Sound Preference

Driving is a noisy activity. Road noise, wind noise, engine sounds, and other cars all make a lot of noise – noise that increases as you drive on faster roads in Calgary. Many modern car sound systems will increase their volume automatically as the road noise increases so you don’t have to adjust the volume knob every few minutes. However, that simple increase in volume doesn’t account for one thing – personal sound preference.

Audiologists have found that, when driving, people’s sound preferences change with the level of driving noise experienced. On average, test subjects repeatedly set the music louder and with more bass when driving noise increased, but it was also found that adjusted levels and balance varied significantly from person to person.

Researchers tested eighteen test subjects between the ages of 23 and 51, asking them to select their individual preferred sound settings when listening to music in a quiet environment, and then again on another day with ambient driving sounds playing.

It isn’t really a surprise to learn that people have individual sound preferences, both in quiet scenarios and with driving noise, but it does mean that a simple increase in volume is not enough to satisfy everyone’s sound preferences.

Hearing Tests Can Help Detect Hearing Loss from Long-term Exposure to Road Noise

Sustained exposure to loud noises can damage your hearing. Are you concerned about hearing loss from sustained exposure to driving noises and high volumes? Hearing tests can help determine if you’ve suffered from hearing loss in any way.

If you’ve noticed that you need to ask people to repeat themselves, or that you have difficulty hearing things compared to others, you may benefit from a hearing test. Contacting a reliable and reputable audiologist to schedule a hearing test can determine what damage you’ve suffered and to what extent.

Protect Your Hearing and Preserve Your Ears

It’s important to protect your hearing when you’re in loud environments. Wearing earplugs can help preserve your hearing when you go to loud places, such as concerts, clubs, or construction zones. Earplugs are a great way to ensure you can enjoy your hearing for years to come.

Visit Soundwave Hearing for Hearing Tests in Calgary

At Soundwave Hearing, we’re passionate about helping to preserve your hearing. Our audiologists can conduct hearing tests to evaluate your hearing and learn if you’ve suffered any damage. We are also able to provide customized hearing protection, such as earplugs, to protect your ears against loud noises. To request an appointment, please reach out to us today.