We are enveloped by 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 result in damage to your ears. With National Protect Your Hearing Month taking place in October, now is the most suitable time to consider preserving your hearing.
How to preserve your hearing: 8 key methods
Luckily, a few simple measures exist that allow you to insulate your hearing from routine environmental sounds. We present eight vital pieces of advice to keep your hearing safe.
1. Become familiar with noise levels and their affect
To begin curbing hearing loss, you must know when noise intensity is too loud to tolerate. Different sounds produce varying decibel (dB) levels, and long-term exposure can lead to permanent hearing loss. Here’s a quick reference:
- Lawn mowers and heavy traffic fall into the 85–90 dB range, which is safe for up to 2 hours of listening.
- Exposure to 100 dB sounds, such as those from construction equipment or motorcycles, risks hearing damage in only 15 minutes.
- Instant damage is possible after merely a few seconds of exposure to noises over 110 dB, like explosions, gunshots, or fireworks.
A anticipatory mindset regarding noise levels allows you to prevent environments that are unsafe for your hearing.
2. Check sound levels yourself
Want to know the actual volume of your surroundings? Your smartphone offers an easy way to measure these levels. Several no-cost sound meter apps are available, allowing you to check noise levels around you. To get accurate results, measure from the distance you usually are from the sound source.
If you use this technique consistently, you’ll gain a clearer insight into your environment and be equipped to make sound choices to shield your hearing.
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 an amplified level. Despite their practicality, headphones and earbuds often conceal certain risks. For example, many headphones can exceed 100 dB, resulting in hearing loss in just 15 minutes.
Today, over a billion young people are at risk of hearing loss from using earbuds at high volumes. You should never set the volume on your earbuds higher than 50% of the maximum capacity if you want to preserve your ears. If you need to raise the volume higher to hear, that’s a clear indicator your hearing may already be damaged.
4. Never try to use music to drown out loud noise
If you live in a noisy neighborhood or frequently work in loud environments, it might be tempting to use headphones to drown out the background sound. However, turning the volume high enough to overpower the noise outside is unwise for your hearing. 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 noisy settings
Earplugs are absolutely necessary for individuals regularly in loud settings, such as concerts, sports events, or while using heavy machinery. They are a highly effective yet simple hearing protection strategy, being compact, inexpensive, and portable.
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 hesitate to use them.
6. Adhere to safety recomendations at work
If your job involves being around loud equipment or machinery, always follow safety protocols regarding hearing protection. While some employers may disregard the danger, those who insist “it’s not that loud” might already have serious hearing damage and be unaware of the actual volume. It is vital to protect your hearing by wearing the necessary protective gear and abiding by the safety rules.
7. Distance yourself from loud noise
Often, the best strategy for safeguarding your ears is merely to put distance between yourself and the noise. Distance diminishes the intensity of sound impacting your ears, helping to minimize damage. 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. A firework exploding at 150 dB may seem far away, but if you’re near the launch site, the noise can still go beyond 120 dB, causing instant damage. You can still 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 essential to act before it worsens. 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.
When initial signs of hearing loss are ignored, it only causes the impairment to progress faster. Usually, individuals delay seeking professional assistance by a full 7 years. By consulting a hearing specialist sooner and exploring treatments such as hearing aids, you maximize the potential for retaining your existing hearing.
Take action today
The observance of National Protect Your Hearing Month is an opportune time to place a high value on your auditory well-being. These easy-to-follow actions can have a major impact, regardless of whether you’re seeking to avert future harm or you’ve already suffered some hearing loss.
Don’t delay—book a hearing test now and gain control over your hearing health before the opportunity is gone.