Acoustic interference is an unavoidable feature of modern life. From lawnmowers and road noise to personal audio devices, the world is more cacophonous than ever. Such loud conditions can negatively impact your hearing if you fail to be cautious. With National Protect Your Hearing Month taking place in October, now is the most suitable time to consider preserving your hearing.
How to safeguard your hearing: 8 key methods
Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to guard your hearing from the everyday noise around you. Here are eight essential tips to safeguard your hearing.
1. Become familiar with noise levels and their impact
The most important action for staving off auditory damage is to determine when a sound level becomes hazardous. The volume of various sounds is measured in decibels (dB), and being subjected to them for extended durations can cause irreversible hearing impairment. A fast summary is below:
- Lawn mowers and heavy traffic fall into the 85–90 dB range, which is safe for up to 2 hours of exposure.
- 100 dB: Motorcycles, construction machinery – Hearing damage can occur in as little as 15 minutes.
- Instant damage is possible after merely a few seconds of exposure to noises over 110 dB, like explosions, gunshots, or fireworks.
A forward-thinking mindset regarding noise levels allows you to keep away from environments that are detrimental for your hearing.
2. Measure sound levels yourself
Are you interested in finding out the true loudness of your environment? You can easily measure it using your smartphone. There are many free applications that function as sound meters, allowing you to examine surrounding noise levels. To get accurate results, measure from the distance you usually are from the sound source.
Regular use of this monitoring tool can improve your understanding of your surroundings, facilitating smarter choices about hearing protection.
3. Don’t crank up the volume on your devices
One of the most frequent causes of long-term hearing damage is enjoying music or podcasts at an amplified level. Headphones and earbuds, while convenient, frequently carry understated dangers. For example, many headphones can surpass 100 dB, resulting in hearing loss in just 15 minutes.
Because they listen with earbuds at high volumes, more than a billion young people worldwide are currently facing a risk of hearing loss. To protect your ears, never turn your earbuds above 50% of their maximum volume. The need to increase the volume past this point to hear indicates that you may already have some hearing damage.
4. Never try to use music to drown out loud noise
When working in a noisy environment or living in a loud neighborhood, you may be tempted to use headphones to cancel the surrounding noise. However, turning the volume high enough to overpower the noise outside is dangerous for your hearing. The preferred solution is noise-canceling headphones, which permit listening to media at a greatly reduced and safer volume. If you don’t have noise-canceling headphones, earplugs can be an effective alternative.
5. When in loud settings, use earplugs
Earplugs are absolutely necessary for individuals often in loud settings, such as concerts, sports events, or while using heavy machinery. Since they are small, affordable, and easy to transport, earplugs offer an uncomplicated but powerful means of hearing protection.
Individuals who use earplugs often can get custom-fitted ones, which give superior protection and comfort compared to standard types. In any loud setting, don’t forget to use them.
6. Adhere to safety recomendations at work
When your work necessitates being near loud machinery or equipment, you must strictly 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 significant hearing loss and don’t realize the current noise levels. It is vital to protect your hearing by using the necessary protective gear and sticking to the safety rules.
7. Move further away from loud noise
The simplest means of hearing protection can often be just moving back from the source of the loud sound. Distance diminishes the intensity of sound impacting your ears, thereby minimize damage. As an illustration, a noise source at 110 dB will be reduced to roughly 100 dB if you stand 20 feet away—a level that allows for up to 15 minutes of safe exposure.
Fireworks offer a good example. 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. By sitting 2,000 feet away (about five football fields), you can enjoy the show at a safer level below 100 dB.
8. Existing hearing loss needs to be addressed promptly
Any existing hearing loss requires prompt action to keep it from advancing. This kind of impairment will not resolve itself; it only advances. Nearly 1 in 10 adults between the ages of 55 and 64 has noticeable hearing loss, and those numbers increase dramatically in older age.
Ignoring the early signs of hearing loss only accelerates its progression. Typically, individuals delay seeking professional assistance by a full 7 years. The sooner you consult with a hearing specialist and explore hearing aids or other treatments, the better your chances of preserving your remaining hearing.
Act now for better hearing
Use National Protect Your Hearing Month as a chance to make hearing health a main concern. These simple actions can have a major impact, regardless of whether you’re seeking to prevent future harm or you’ve already experienced some hearing loss.
book a hearing test now and gain control over your hearing health before the opportunity is gone.