We are enveloped by noise in our everyday existence. Our environment—from traffic and yard work to music via earbuds—is increasingly loud. The growing volume of sound poses a significant risk to your auditory health unless you take measures. 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
Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to guard your hearing from the everyday noise around you. The following are eight primary recommendations for maintaining your hearing health.
1. Become familiar with noise levels and their impact
The most important action for staving off auditory damage is to recognize when a sound level becomes excessive. Varying noises generate different decibel (dB) measurements; spending too much time around loud ones can result in unrecoverable hearing damage. Consult this brief summary:
- 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.
- Instant damage is possible after merely a few seconds of exposure to noises over 110 dB, like explosions, gunshots, or fireworks.
Taking a proactive approach to noise awareness can help you avoid environments that are dangerous to your ears.
2. Measure sound levels yourself
Curious about how loud your environment really is? A smartphone makes measuring sound levels effortless. Several no-cost sound meter apps are accessible, allowing you to check 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 better understand 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 progressive hearing damage. The ease of headphones and earbuds often comes with unseen risks. It’s noteworthy that numerous headphones can reach 100 dB, a level that can induce hearing loss in only 15 minutes of use.
Current data suggests that more than a billion young individuals face the threat of hearing impairment due to excessive earbud use. To protect your ears, never turn your earbuds above 50% of their maximum volume. If you find yourself turning the volume up just to be able to hear, it likely means some degree of hearing loss has already occurred.
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 actually harmful to increase the volume excessively just to override external noise. A better alternative is to use noise-canceling headphones, as they let you listen to music or podcasts at a significantly lower and safer volume. If you don’t have noise-canceling headphones, earplugs can be an effective alternative.
5. Always utilize earplugs in noisy settings
For anyone frequently exposed 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 strategy, being compact, inexpensive, and portable.
If you use them often, custom-fitted earplugs can be obtained, offering improved protection and a better fit than off-the-shelf versions. You should always use them in all environments that are loud.
6. While at work, follow safety recommendations
When your work necessitates being near loud machinery or equipment, you must strictly follow all safety procedures for hearing protection. While some employers may disregard the danger, those who insist “it’s not that loud” might already have noticeable hearing damage and be unaware of the actual volume. You should protect your hearing by using the correct protective gear and sticking to the safety rules.
7. Move further away from loud noise
Often, the best strategy for safeguarding your ears is merely to step away from the noise. The advantage of distance is that it decreases 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.
Consider fireworks as a perfect illustration. 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 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
Any existing hearing loss demands prompt action to keep it from escalating. Auditory impairment is not self-reversing; it will continue to worsen. Particularly, close to 10% of adults aged 55 to 64 suffer from major hearing loss, with the rates rising considerably among older demographics.
When initial signs of hearing loss are ignored, it only causes the condition to progress faster. Usually, individuals delay seeking treatment 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.
Start protecting your hearing now
The observance of National Protect Your Hearing Month is an great time to place a high value on your auditory well-being. These basic steps are effective and can make a big change, whether your goal is to reduce existing hearing loss or stop it from happening.
Schedule a hearing test today and take charge of your hearing health before it’s too late.