![\"News](\"https:\/\/media.healthday.com\/Images\/icimages\/protest64.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
MONDAY, June 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) — As Americans take to the streets to protest police brutality, they may face ear-blasting “sound cannons” that can harm their hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sound cannons, or long-range acoustic devices (LRADs), were developed for the military, and now some police departments use them as weapons in crowd control. The sound they emit is greater than that of a jet engine and surpasses the average threshold for pain<\/a>, warns the American Speech-Language-Hearing<\/a> Association (ASHA).<\/p>\n “LRADs have been and can be easily set at extremely high decibel levels that can cause serious lasting harm,” ASHA said in a news release.<\/p>\n That level of sound can cause permanent hearing loss<\/a>, migraine<\/a> and vestibular<\/a> and other auditory symptoms. Children, the elderly and others with hearing problems can be at increased risk, the association warned.<\/p>\n ASHA is urging safer use of sound cannons by police and law enforcement. The association noted that some cities are curbing their use; one decided to stop using them while another city developed a policy for safer practices after it was sued because someone had permanent hearing loss<\/a> from police LRAD use.<\/p>\n Proponents say these devices are needed for making public addresses to large or noisy crowds. But the level of speech broadcasted through LRADs is unsafe, according to ASHA.<\/p>\n The hearing organization urges people going to public gatherings to take earplugs or ear muffs with the greatest noise reduction rating they can find.<\/p>\n Also, when extremely high-decibel LRADs are used, you should:<\/p>\n — Steven Reinberg<\/p>\n\n
![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
Copyright \u00a9 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/quiz\/hearing-loss\/hearing-loss-s1.jpg\"\/)