We are constantly exposed to noise in our everyday existence. From lawnmowers and road noise to personal audio devices, the world is more cacophonous than ever. Without proper care, this higher level of noise can cause damage to your ears. The observance of National Protect Your Hearing Month in October provides the perfect opportunity to prioritize the conservation of this fundamental sense.
How to shield your hearing: 8 key methods
It’s a relief that uncomplicated actions can be implemented to defend your ears from the constant noise you encounter daily. We present eight crucial pieces of advice to keep your hearing safe.
1. Become familiar with volume levels and their impact
The most important action for averting auditory damage is to recognize when a sound level becomes excessive. Diverse noises generate different decibel (dB) measurements; spending too much time around loud ones can result in unrecoverable hearing damage. Consult this brief table:
- Sounds like heavy traffic or lawn mowers (85–90 dB) can be tolerated safely for a maximum of 2 hours.
- Exposure to 100 dB sounds, such as those from construction equipment or motorcycles, risks hearing damage in only 15 minutes.
- Noises exceeding 110 dB (e.g., explosions, fireworks) can lead to immediate damage in just seconds.
By being proactive about how loud your surroundings are, you can successfully stay away from settings that pose a threat to your auditory health.
2. Check sound levels yourself
Want to know the actual volume of your surroundings? Your smartphone offers an easy way to measure these levels. You can download various complimentary sound meter applications to evaluate the noise in your vicinity. For the most accurate results, ensure you measure the sound from your usual distance to the source.
Using this tool regularly can help you better grasp your environment and make educated decisions about protecting your hearing.
3. Keep the volume down on your devices
Regularly playing music or podcasts too loudly is a leading contributor to cumulative hearing damage. Headphones and earbuds, while convenient, frequently carry understated dangers. It’s important that numerous headphones can reach 100 dB, a level that can induce hearing loss in only 15 minutes of use.
Because they listen with earbuds at high volumes, more than a billion young people worldwide are currently facing a risk of hearing loss. Crucially, keep your earbud volume below 50% of its full level to protect your hearing. If you need to raise the volume higher to hear, that’s a sign your hearing may already be damaged.
4. Avoid using music to drown out background noise
If you reside in a noisy neighborhood or frequently work in loud environments, it might be enticing to use headphones to block out the background sound. But cranking up the volume to overpower outside noise is damaging. Instead, consider using noise-canceling headphones, which allow you to enjoy your music or podcasts at a much lower, less hazardous volume. If you don’t have noise-canceling headphones, earplugs can be an effective alternative.
5. When in noisy environments, use earplugs
For anyone regularly attending loud environments—whether at concerts, sporting events, or while operating heavy machinery—earplugs are a must. They are small, affordable, and easy to carry, making them a straightforward but effective tool for hearing protection.
If you use them often, custom-fitted earplugs can be obtained, offering enhanced protection and a better fit than off-the-shelf versions. Never think twice about use earplugs when you are in a noisy location.
6. Follow safety recomendations at work
critically, if your occupation exposes you to loud machinery or equipment, you must ensure you follow the established safety guidelines for auditory protection. Be wary because some jobs may ignore the risks; individuals claiming “it’s not that loud” could be suffering from substantial hearing loss and thus misjudging the true noise level. Protect yourself by following guidelines and wearing proper protective equipment.
7. Move further away from loud noise
Sometimes the best way to protect your ears is simply to move away from the noise source. The advantage of distance is that it decreases the sound’s intensity before it reaches your ears, thus serving to minimize the risk of harm. To illustrate, moving 20 feet back from a 110 dB sound source can lower the level to about 100 dB, which is safe for 15 minutes of exposure.
The example of fireworks demonstrates this well. While a firework explosion registers at 150 dB, if you are close to where it launches, the sound can still surpass 120 dB, which can cause instant harm. You can nonetheless enjoy the display at a safer level, below 100 dB, by being 2,000 feet away (the length of about five football fields).
8. Existing hearing loss needs to be addressed promptly
If you’ve already developed hearing loss, it’s essential to act before it worsens. Auditory impairment is not self-reversing; it will continue to worsen. Statistics reveal that nearly 1 out of 10 adults in the 55-to-64 age group have serious hearing loss, and this percentage jumps in later years.
Ignoring the early indicators of hearing loss only speeds up its progression. On average, people wait 7 years too long to consult a specialist. By consulting a hearing specialist without delay and exploring treatments such as hearing aids, you maximize the potential for retaining your existing hearing.
Start protecting your hearing now
The observance of National Protect Your Hearing Month is an great time to place a high value on your auditory well-being. Whether you’ve already experienced some hearing loss or want to avoid future damage, these simple steps can make a big difference.
To avoid future regret, arrange a hearing test immediately and take responsibility for your auditory health.