A new study released by the St. Louis University School of Medicine and the Ear Institute of Texas found that high-speech convertible driving can be hazardous to your hearing. When cruisin’ at speeds of 55MPH+ with the top down you are exposing your ears to sound levels greater than 85 decibels. This decibel range is where irreversible hearing damage can begin. It’s not only the sound level, but also the constant battering of turbulence on your ears during the drive that can play a role on hearing loss. The research found that with each MPH increased, the chances of hearing loss damage increased.
The study recommends that if you are planning on driving around in your convertible, you pop the top on for drives that might bring you over 55MPH.