There are many ways we try to stay safe. We wear a seatbelt in the car, we wear a helmet when bicycling, and we exercise to keep our heart healthy. But it’s important to also protect our hearing by preventing hearing damage whenever we anticipate a loud setting.
The louder the noise, the less time it takes to damage your hearing. A quick burst of an extremely loud noise like an explosion, gunshot, or burst of music could damage hearing. Constant noise, like a chainsaw, could still do damage, but it would take longer. It’s important to protect yourself from loud noises by using ear protection if you will be exposed to loud environments such as an industrial workplace.
Let’s face it; the world is filled with noise. Your ears need sound, and we need to make sound in order to have a society. But hearing protection needs to be an important part of working or playing in noisy environments.
We offer hearing protection devices for work, play, or sport. Talk to us about your needs!
We provide custom hearing protection as well as custom molds for iPods and Sleep Plugs. We also sell Musician Plugs ER-9, 15, 25 and Musician’s Monitors.
It has been determined that sounds louder than 85 dB (decibels) can cause enough damage to create hearing loss. But what is 85 dB and how do you know if you’re exposed to it?
To the right is a chart that ranks various noises along with their matching decibel intensity and time exposure. In other words, the chart tells you how long you can safely be exposed to the particular noise before it becomes dangerous. The information is courtesy of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (NIOSH/CDC).
Hearing loss due to workplace environment is preventable. Controlling or lowering the noise level is the first way to prevent hearing loss, but when that is not possible, knowing your exposure risks and wearing ear protection while at work are the best way to prevent occupational hearing loss.
Every year $242 million is spent on worker’s compensation cases due to occupational hearing loss disability claims. About 22 million people (according to the NIOSH) are exposed to dangerous noise levels at work. Exposure to sudden and extreme noise bursts like gunshots, industrial noise, loud music, or motors is more dangerous than longer periods of more moderate noise. However, even more moderate noise can be damaging if exposed for long periods of time (this is why you see gardeners and street maintenance workers oftentimes wearing protective earwear!).
It is recommended by NIOSH that each workplace have a program dedicated to hearing loss prevention. The program ideally would include ear protection devices, worker education, occasional hearing tests, and accurate bookwork regarding evaluation and audits.
Gunfire exceeds 130 dB, and we know that exposure to sounds more than 85 dB are dangerous. In order to prevent hearing loss and permanent damage, it is essential that those who are around gunfire (hunters, target shooters, etc.) wear hearing protection.
If you are a hunter, you need to be able to hear very quiet sounds and still be protected from the high decibel exposure of gunfire. Luckily, there are many products on the market for hunters (and many custom options) that will do both.
One good custom option is an electronic ear plug. It enhances the quiet sounds around you but reduces the loud sounds, so you can hear game movement and be protected from the gunfire at the same time.
Whether you are amateur or professional, it’s important to wear ear protection when working in a high decibel environment. Long term exposure to high decibels can cause hearing loss, tinnitus, or change the way you hear sound. It can also make you hypersensitive to sounds.
For musicians, custom ear molds are the best choice because they provide protection from exposure to high decibel sounds without distorting what is heard. Regular earplugs reduce sounds, targeting the frequencies in the low-to-mid range. This will work for spectators and audience members but is not a great choice for the musicians.
In addition to custom ear molds, there are new products on the market that are “in-ear monitors” which protect the ears while enhancing what you hear.
Unfortunately, police officers and law enforcement personnel may find themselves in situations where gunfire is necessary. And it’s not always possible to protect their ears or prevent firing in close proximity to another person.
Law enforcement officers are generally at a higher risk for hearing damage due to gunfire. The better outcome would be only a temporary reduction in ability to hear; but unfortunately, many times hearing damage is severe and causes hearing loss that cannot be reversed.