Noise is a ever-present factor in our daily lives. From power tools and traffic to personal audio devices, the world is louder than ever. Without adequate care, this higher level of noise can result in damage to your ears. The observance of National Protect Your Hearing Month in October provides the perfect opportunity to focus on the conservation of this key sense.
8 tips to protect your hearing
Luckily, some effortless measures exist that allow you to insulate your hearing from common environmental sounds. Here are eight essential tips to preserve your hearing.
1. Become familiar with noise levels and their impact
To begin preventing hearing loss, you must know when noise intensity is dangerously high. Different sounds produce varying decibel (dB) levels, and prolonged exposure can lead to permanent hearing loss. Here’s a quick reference:
- 85–90 dB: Lawn mowers, heavy traffic – Safe for up to 2 hours of exposure.
- 100 dB: Motorcycles, construction machinery – Hearing damage can occur in as little as 15 minutes.
- Noises exceeding 110 dB (e.g., explosions, fireworks) can lead to immediate damage in just seconds.
A anticipatory mindset regarding noise levels enables you to prevent environments that are detrimental for your hearing.
2. Check sound levels yourself
Are you interested in discovering the true loudness of your environment? Your smartphone offers an convenient way to measure it. There are many free applications that act as sound meters, allowing you to examine surrounding noise levels. For the most precise results, ensure you measure the sound from your usual distance to the source.
If you use this measuring method consistently, you’ll gain a clearer insight into your environment and be prepared to make wise choices to shield your hearing.
3. Keep the volume down on your devices
Regularly playing music or podcasts too loudly is a primary contributor to cumulative hearing damage. Despite their handiness, headphones and earbuds often conceal certain risks. For example, many headphones can surpass 100 dB, leading to hearing loss in just 15 minutes.
Today, over a billion young people are at risk of hearing loss from using earbuds at high volumes. To be safe, keep your earbud volume below 50% of its full potential to protect your hearing. If you need to raise the volume higher to hear, that’s a clear indicator your hearing may already be damaged.
4. Avoid using music to drown out background noise
For those who reside in loud areas or work in noisy settings, the urge to use headphones to overpower the ambient sound can be strong. It is in fact harmful to increase the volume too high just to override external noise. Instead, consider using noise-canceling headphones, which allow you to enjoy your music or podcasts at a much lower, less hazardous volume. Should noise-canceling headphones not be an option, simple earplugs are a viable alternative.
5. Always use earplugs in loud environments
For anyone regularly attending loud environments—whether at concerts, sporting events, or while operating heavy machinery—earplugs are a must. They are a very effective yet simple hearing protection solution, being compact, inexpensive, and portable.
Individuals who require earplugs often can obtain custom-fitted ones, which give superior protection and comfort compared to standard types. In any loud setting, don’t hesitate to use them.
6. While at work, follow safety guidelines
critically, if your occupation exposes you to loud machinery or equipment, you must ensure you follow the established safety guidelines for auditory protection. While some employers may underestimate the danger, those who insist “it’s not that loud” might already have noticeable hearing damage and be unaware of the actual volume. Take necessary steps to protect yourself by observing all guidelines and wearing the right protective equipment.
7. Move further away from loud noise
The most effective means of hearing protection can often be just moving back from the source of the loud sound. The benefit of distance is that it lessens 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 is instructive. A firework exploding at 150 dB may seem far away, but if you’re near the launch site, the noise can still exceed 120 dB, causing instant damage. 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 critical to act before it worsens. Hearing loss doesn’t go away on its own; it progresses. Statistics show that nearly 1 out of 10 adults in the 55-to-64 age group have considerable hearing loss, and this percentage increases in later years.
When initial signs of hearing loss are ignored, it only causes the impairment to progress faster. Typically, individuals delay seeking professional assistance by a full 7 years. Your ability to conserve the hearing you still have is greatly enhanced the earlier you see a hearing specialist to discuss options like hearing aids.
Take action today
National Protect Your Hearing Month is an excellent reminder to prioritize your hearing health. These fundamental steps are effective and can make a big change, whether your goal is to reduce existing hearing loss or stop future impairment.
Don’t delay—book a hearing test now and assume control over your hearing health before the opportunity is gone.
