Understanding Hearing Protection and How It Helps

Some people believe that if you don’t notice a noise, it’s not dangerous. Although you may have gotten good at tuning out audible distractions, that does not mean they don’t damage your hearing.

Most people are risking damage to their hearing without even realizing it.

Have you ever experienced ringing or buzzing in your ears after attending a concert, major sporting event, or nightclub? Those sounds are a temporary form of tinnitus and a warning sign that your ears have been damaged by loud noise.

Second only to presbycusis (age-related hearing loss), noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the most common cause of hearing loss, and it is the number one cause among those under the age of 65.

Gulf Gate Hearing Aid Center wants to help you understand that hearing protection is your best defense against noise-induced hearing loss. So, let’s take a closer look at NIHL and how hearing protection helps keep it at bay.

How NIHL Happens

Sensorineural hearing loss is a form of permanent hearing loss that occurs as the irreplaceable hair cells in the inner ear die. In the case of presbycusis, this occurs due to their deterioration as you age, but NIHL is different.

When you are exposed to loud noise, these hair cells inside the cochlea (inner ear) become damaged. Tinnitus is often the first warning sign of this damage, as 90 percent of those with chronic tinnitus symptoms also have hearing loss.

Noise damage to your hearing can develop in two different ways: a one-time extreme noise event (explosion) or ongoing exposure to damaging noise levels. The latter sneaks up on you, destroying your hearing without you noticing it before it’s too late.

Unfortunately, damaging noise exposure is extremely common in our day-to-day activities. Consider the sound intensity levels (measured in decibels, or dB) of the following activities:

• Mowing the lawn: 85 dB
• Riding your motorcycle: 100 dB
• Using a chainsaw or power tools around the house: 95 to 125 dB
• Concerts, major sporting events, bars and nightclubs: 110 dB
• Pneumatic tools (drills, nailguns, power wrenches): 125 dB
• Discharging a firearm: 145 to 165 dB
• Fireworks and firecrackers within three feet: 145 dB
• Explosion with a shockwave: 190+ dB

Damage to your unprotected ears occurs after eight hours of exposure to noise levels of 85 dB, but with each 3 dB increase of intensity, the amount of time before damage occurs is cut in half.

Using the sounds listed above, damage to your hearing can occur within 15 minutes of riding your motorcycle without hearing protection, a minute and a half of exposure to loud noise at a concert, sporting event or bar, and instantly with each discharge of a firearm or explosion of a firecracker.

Hearing protection is your only defense against developing noise-induced hearing loss from either a one-time explosive event or ongoing exposure to noise.

4 Benefits of Wearing Hearing Protection

Why should you wear hearing protection if you are frequently exposed to noise levels above 85 dB? Here are four benefits hearing protection provides:

#1—NIHL Prevention: Wearing hearing protection reduces the intensity of the sound that enters your ears, preventing damage to the irreplaceable hair cells inside the cochlea.

#2—Tinnitus Prevention: The temporary ringing, humming, or buzzing sounds used to describe tinnitus are common indicators of damage to the ear’s hair cells. When it becomes a chronic condition, tinnitus makes it difficult to concentrate, relax, or get a good night’s sleep. Wearing hearing protection lowers your risk of developing this condition.

#3—‍Balance Protection: One of the consequences of damage to the hair cells in your inner ear is damage to your vestibular system, which is the system that helps you maintain your balance. Protecting those hair cells helps you avoid dizziness, vertigo, and balance disorders that go along with damage to your hearing.

#4—‍Safety: Hearing protection blocks noises from your surroundings that may distract you and disrupt your concentration. In some occupations, any type of distraction can compromise your safety or the safety of those around you. The right kind of hearing protection allows you to hear the sounds and conversations you need to hear while reducing the level of those that are disruptive.

How Much Protection Do You Need?

In order to know how much protection you need, you need to know the decibel level of the noise you’re being exposed to and the period of time you are likely to be exposed to it.

Hearing protection products come with a standard noise-reduction rating (NRR). The NRR number assigned to each hearing protection product tells you how many decibels the product will reduce the noise around you.

When looking for hearing protection, you want the NRR number to reduce your exposure to the noise to a level that will not cause damage during the amount of time you are engaged in that activity.

For example, if you will be using power tools for four hours, you need hearing protection with a rating that will reduce the sound intensity to 88 dB.

110 dB – 88 dB = 22

Therefore, you will need hearing protection that will reduce the noise by 22 dB or more to protect your ears. However, the NRR number is not a true measure of the decibels being blocked. You would need twice that level to have adequate protection according to NIOSH and OSHA calculation methods.

Types of Hearing Protection

Hearing protection comes in various forms. Each type has its advantages and its drawbacks. Let’s do a quick examination of the five main categories of hearing protection.

Ear Muffs

You most often see these on people at a gun range or workers at an airport. This form of hearing protection provides the most comprehensive blockage of damaging sound. However, ear muffs are bulky and may not work well for other situations and circumstances, and they are less effective at blocking out sound than earplugs. Typical NRR is about 30.

Disposable Earplugs

Typically made of soft malleable foam that can be molded to fit your ear, disposable earplugs are designed to be used once, and then thrown away. They are inexpensive and useful when you are only exposed to noise for a short period of time, like at a major sporting event or concert, but they are uncomfortable to wear all day and they may not provide an adequate acoustic seal, which reduces their effectiveness.

Their NRR rating ranges from 25 to 35.

Silicone Earplugs and Canal Caps

Rather than being made of malleable foam, these over-the-counter (OTC) earplugs are made of soft, medical-grade silicone. OTC earplugs can come with or without a string attached so you can keep track of them. Earplugs that are attached to a flexible band that goes around your neck so you can insert the plugs when you need them or let them rest on your neck are typically called canal caps.

They are designed for extended use for those who wear them more frequently, but like disposable plugs, they do not always provide a secure acoustic seal. Like disposable earplugs, they typically have an NRR of 25 to 35.

‍Custom Hearing Protection

Custom earplugs are earplugs that are formed to the unique contours of your ear. They are more expensive than either OTC or disposable earplugs, but they typically have a longer service life, provide a complete acoustic seal, and are much more comfortable to wear.

Many custom earplugs come with interchangeable sound filters, allowing you to increase the level of protection you need as you engage in different activities. These sound filters provide a variable NRR up to 35.

Musicians Earplugs

These are specially designed earplugs that block out the ambient noise of a concert while enhancing the tone quality of the music being performed. They typically come in the form of in-ear monitors that allow the musician to hear instrumentation and vocals as they are mixed, but at a significantly reduced volume.

Ask Gulf Gate About the Best Hearing Protection for You

As hearing care professionals, our focus is on doing all we can to make sure you hear your best for as long as possible. One of the ways we do that is by ensuring that your ears are protected against damaging noise.