Study warns balloon pops as loud as shotgun blast and could cause hearing damage

Children should only pop party balloons while wearing ear defenders, hearing experts have warned.

Despite being part of the fun and games at parties, the bang can be louder than a shotgun blast, scientists claim.

Blowing them up until they exploded caused the loudest bang but popping them with a pin and squeezing were nearly as loud, a study found.

And nannying researchers now say these levels exceed safety limits and can cause permanent damage to a youngster's hearing, according to the Daily Mail.

Canadian researchers recorded a range of methods used to pop balloons using a high-pressure microphone while wearing protective ear defenders.

They found over-inflated balloons would often pop at 168 decibels - three decibels louder than a 12-gauge shotgun.

Bursting balloons through the other two methods were slightly lower, but still posed a concern for the researchers. 

Health and safety guidelines say the maximum impulse level anyone should experience shouldn't exceed 140 decibels.

Just one exposure to levels higher than this can potentially be unsafe to hearing for both children and adults.

Writing in the journal Canadian Audiologist, study author Professor Bill Hodgetts, from the University of Alberta, said: "This research is a conversation starter.

"We are not saying don't play with balloons and don't have fun, just try to guard against popping them.

"Hearing loss is insidious - every loud noise that occurs has a potential lifelong impact.

"We want people to be mindful of hearing damage over a lifetime, because once you get to the back end of life, no hearing aid is as good as the once healthy built-in system in your inner ear.

"We need to think about our hearing health just like we think about our overall health.

"Hearing loss is one of those invisible problem - until you have it, you don't even think about it.Once you have it, it impacts everything."

Many parents may not view the shock caused to eardrums by the sudden noise as worrying.

But parents need to consider loud noises as being as dangerous as not putting on sunscreen outdoors, the researchers added.

That is because hearing damage occurs when the delicate hair cells in the inner ear - which don't regrow - are worn down by noise.

The findings also raises the question of what should be the safety thresholds for impulse noise - created by a sudden burst of intense energy - that can result in gradual hearing loss. 

Acoustic engineer Dylan Scott, who was involved in the study, said: 'It's amazing how loud the balloons are.

"Nobody would let their child shoot something that loud without hearing protection, but balloons don't cross people's minds." 

- Daily Mail