Noise is a constant factor in our daily lives. Whether it’s lawnmowers, heavy traffic, or our own headphones, the auditory world has intensified. This rise in noise can have a harmful effect on your hearing if you’re not careful. As October marks National Protect Your Hearing Month, it serves as an ideal period to review how to safeguard this important sense.
How to shield your hearing: 8 key methods
It’s a relief that basic actions can be implemented to defend your ears from the ambient noise you encounter daily. The following are eight primary recommendations for maintaining your hearing health.
1. Understand noise levels and their impact
Being aware of how loud is too loud is the initial step in avoiding hearing damage. Diverse noises generate different decibel (dB) measurements; spending too much time around loud ones can result in unrecoverable hearing damage. A fast look is below:
- Lawn mowers and heavy traffic fall into the 85–90 dB range, which is safe for up to 2 hours of listening.
- At 100 dB (e.g., motorcycles, construction machinery), hearing damage can begin after only 15 minutes.
- Over 110 dB: Fireworks, gunshots, explosions – Instant damage can happen after just a few seconds.
A anticipatory mindset regarding noise levels enables you to prevent environments that are detrimental for your hearing.
2. Check sound levels yourself
Want to know the actual volume of your surroundings? Your smartphone offers an convenient way to measure these levels. Several no-cost sound meter apps are available, allowing you to test noise levels around you. For the most precise results, ensure you measure the sound from your usual distance to the 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. Keep the volume down on your devices
Listening to music or podcasts at excessive volumes is one of the most common ways people damage their hearing over time. Headphones and earbuds, while convenient, frequently carry unrecognized 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. 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
If you reside in a noisy neighborhood or frequently work in loud environments, it might be enticing to use headphones to drown out the background sound. But cranking up the volume to overpower outside noise is harmful. The preferred solution is noise-canceling headphones, which permit listening to media at a greatly reduced and safer volume. Should noise-canceling headphones not be an option, simple earplugs are a viable alternative.
5. When in loud settings, use earplugs
For anyone frequently exposed 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 simple but effective tool for hearing protection.
Custom-fitted earplugs are offered for those who need them regularly, providing better fit and protection than generic options. Never fail to use earplugs when you are in a noisy location.
6. While at work, follow safety guidelines
When your work necessitates being near loud machinery or equipment, you must strictly follow all safety procedures for hearing protection. While some employers may underestimate the danger, those who insist “it’s not that loud” might already have serious hearing damage and be unaware of the actual volume. Protect yourself by adhering to guidelines and wearing appropriate protective equipment.
7. Distance yourself from loud noise
Sometimes the best way to protect your ears is simply to increase the space from the noise source. The benefit 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.
Consider fireworks as a relevant illustration. Even if a 150 dB firework explosion appears distant, being close to the launch site means the noise could still be over 120 dB, leading to 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. Existing hearing loss needs to be addressed promptly
Should you already be dealing with hearing loss, it is crucial that you take action so it doesn’t get worse. Auditory impairment is not self-reversing; it will progress. Specifically, close to 10% of adults aged 55 to 64 suffer from major hearing loss, with the rates climbing steeply among older demographics.
When initial signs of hearing loss are ignored, it only causes the condition to progress faster. On average, people wait 7 years too long to get treatment. Your ability to conserve the hearing you still have is greatly enhanced the earlier you see a hearing specialist to review options like hearing aids.
Take action today
National Protect Your Hearing Month is an ideal reminder to prioritize your hearing health. Whether you’ve already experienced some hearing loss or want to prevent future damage, these simple steps can make a big difference.
Don’t delay—book a hearing test now and assume control over your hearing health before the opportunity is gone.