We are constantly exposed to noise in our everyday existence. Whether it’s lawnmowers, heavy traffic, or our own headphones, the auditory world has intensified. Without adequate care, this higher level of noise can cause damage to your sense of hearing. With National Protect Your Hearing Month taking place in October, now is the best time to dedicate attention to keeping safe your hearing.
How to shield your hearing: 8 key methods
Fortunately, there are easy steps you can take to protect your ears from the daily noise around you. Here are eight top tips to preserve your hearing.
1. Understand volume levels and their impact
The most important action for averting auditory damage is to recognize when a sound level becomes hazardous. Diverse noises generate different decibel (dB) measurements; spending too much time around loud ones can result in unrecoverable hearing damage. Here’s a quick reference:
- 85–90 dB: Lawn mowers, heavy traffic – Safe for up to 2 hours of exposure.
- 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.
Taking a proactive approach to noise awareness can help you avoid environments that are hazardous to your ears.
2. Check sound levels yourself
Are you interested in finding out the true loudness of your environment? Your smartphone offers an simple way to measure these levels. Several no-cost sound meter apps are available, allowing you to test noise levels around you. For the most accurate results, ensure you measure the sound from your typical distance to the source.
Regular use of this monitoring tool can enhance your understanding of your surroundings, leading to smarter choices about hearing protection.
3. Don’t crank up the volume on your devices
One of the most frequent causes of gradual hearing damage is enjoying music or podcasts at volumes that are too high. The ease of headphones and earbuds often comes with unseen risks. 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. You should never set the volume on your earbuds higher than 50% of the maximum capacity if you want to safeguard your ears. Having to increase the volume past this point to hear suggests that you may already have some hearing damage.
4. Avoid using music to drown out background noise
For those who live in loud areas or work in noisy settings, the urge to use headphones to overpower the ambient sound can be strong. But cranking up the volume to overpower outside noise is harmful. The recommended solution is noise-canceling headphones, which permit listening to media at a much reduced and safer volume. In the absence of noise-canceling headphones, using earplugs is an good substitute.
5. Always utilize earplugs in loud settings
Earplugs are essential for individuals regularly in loud settings, such as concerts, sports events, or while using heavy machinery. They are small, affordable, and easy to carry, making them a simple but effective tool for hearing protection.
Custom-fitted earplugs are available for those who need them regularly, providing better comfort and protection than generic options. In any loud setting, don’t hesitate to use them.
6. Adhere to safety guidelines at work
When your work involves being near loud machinery or equipment, you must diligently follow all safety procedures for hearing protection. Some workplaces may undervalue the risks, but those who claim “it’s not that loud” may already have considerable hearing loss and don’t perceive the current noise levels. Take essential steps to protect yourself by complying with all guidelines and wearing the designated protective equipment.
7. Move further away from loud noise
Often, the best strategy for safeguarding your ears is merely to put distance between yourself and the noise. The advantage of distance is that it lessens the sound’s intensity before it reaches your ears, thus helping 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.
Fireworks offer a good example. Even if a 150 dB firework explosion appears distant, being close to the launch site means the noise could still be over 120 dB, resulting in immediate 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. Address existing hearing loss promptly
If you’ve already noticed hearing loss, it’s critical to act before it worsens. Hearing loss doesn’t go away on its own; it progresses. Statistics reveal that approximately 1 out of 10 adults in the 55-to-64 age group have serious hearing loss, and this percentage increases in later years.
Ignoring the early signs of hearing loss only accelerates its progression. On average, people wait 7 years too long to seek help. Your ability to protect the hearing you still have is improved the earlier you see a hearing specialist to review options like hearing aids.
Take action today
National Protect Your Hearing Month is an excellent reminder to focus on your hearing health. These easy-to-follow actions can have a major impact, regardless of whether you’re seeking to avert future harm or you’ve already experienced some hearing loss.
Schedule a hearing test today and take charge of your hearing health before it’s too late.