The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #173866   Message #4216736
Posted By: robomatic
05-Feb-25 - 02:40 PM
Thread Name: Tech: Air Bags Deployed (Musician injury)
Subject: Tech: Air Bags Deployed
I am posting this above the line because a musician is involved.

Four days ago an acquaintance of mine, 50 plus years old, was in a traffic accident. Their body was shaken up but nothing broken, however the vehicle air bags inflated, it's cold out and the windows were closed, so the air in the sedan was pressurized and hearing was damaged.

This has been one of my pet fears, but so far I have not experienced it. I used to think that if I drove a vehicle with air bags I'd crack the windows, but another part of me figured that smart vehicle designers would have constructed such vehicles with air channels for just this purpose.

In this case my friend has been seen by professionals who told them their eardrums are okay, but won't predict whether or not their hearing will improve. My friend is going to a hearing aid provider, who I hope will have experience with this problem, which can't be that rare.

Anyone have experience with this? My friend is a musician which makes this achingly acute, literally.