Tinnitus and Hyperacusis - Air bag danger

The tremendous noise of an exploding airbag can cause Tinnitus or Hyperacusis. The noise of an exploding airbag, or, in many cases, the explosion of both front and side airbags is one of the loudest sounds you can experience. This noise, which takes place in an enclosed space, has been reported to reach 178 decibels. To put this in perspective, the threshold of pain in humans is 140 dB, and the noise of a jet taking off from 100 ft away is 135 dB. Every 10 dB  increase is double the noise.  (These studies have only been done on one airbag detonating at a time, but in real life, both side and front airbags, and sometimes curtain airbags may all detonate at once)

This tremendous noise can cause Tinnitus either right away or later in life. 

Tinnitus is the condition of hearing noise all the time, even while asleep - even though it isn't there. This problem has led to suicide in some cases and although there isn't a cure, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy can help someone who is suffering from Tinnitus to deal with the problem.

Those who already have Tinnitus understand its implications better, and when possible, choose to eliminate their airbags entirely so they can retain at least some of their hearing. Hyperacusis, which is excessive sensitivity to noise, sometimes accompanies Tinnitus. Both of these conditions can be made far worse when someone suffering from these conditions is exposed to such loud noises.

Tinnitus is a medical problem that NHTSA recognizes and they will give permission for an airbag switch or disconnection to someone who has the condition and makes a request for an airbag switch or disconnection.

Unfortunately, the fact that Tinnitus can be caused in the future by an Airbag Detonation is not as well recognized.

The American Tinnitus Association has not taken an active stance on this problem, although they have reported it in their literature and are aware of it. Tinnitus sufferers desperate to do something to protect themselves from this airbag problem have not known where to turn for help.

We have been told by many Tinnitus sufferers that they had been looking for a long time before they found out about Sensible Solutions. They also reported that in their opinion, many Tinnitus sufferers are reluctant to go through the government process to get approval to disconnect their airbags or get an airbag switch. NHTSA's approval process is not that difficult, though and so far, approval has been granted to Tinnitus suffers without question.