Category: Hearing Protection Devices

You’re probably tired of people mentioning that you need to be careful with your hearing. However, and seeing the number of people with hearing problems increasing year after year, we just need to make sure that you are well aware of the situation.

Not all noises are bad or harm you. In fact, for a loud noise to permanently harm your hearing, it needs to be a constant for a couple of hours each day. Depending on how loud the noise is, your hearing may start to be affected sooner or later at the time.

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The main problem with defining safe decibel levels is that since you’re already so used to some noises, that you no longer consider them harmful. However, some of them can be.

When you grab your lawnmower to cut the lawn in the summer, you probably don’t notice the extremely loud noise it makes. After all, it’s just one more task you need to do and manufactures should have taken care of having them with safe decibel levels. However, they haven’t. And your hearing is the one that is getting affected if you don’t wear and hearing protection device.

But there is also another point that is worth to be mentioned. People’s ears are not all the same. Some people have more sensitive ears than others. Just think about people who are more prone to have swimmers’ ear. They have more sensitive ears than someone who can dive in the lake or at the pool and their ears don’t get affected.

But how can you tell if a particular noise is at safe decibel levels?

The best thing you can do is to put things in perspective. For example, a normal conversation is usually about 60 decibels. Although, the lawnmower that we mentioned earlier, is about 90 decibels. And if you’re looking to have fun and you want to attend a rock concert, you can expect for it to be about 120 decibels.

As a rule of thumb, you should consider that 85 decibels or above are harmful to your hearing. However, this depends on the time you’re exposed to them and at how much distance from the origin of the noise.

Another thing you can use to have a better idea regarding the safe decibel levels is to look at a hearing loss decibels chart. Hearing loss decibel charts will give you a pretty good idea about what kind of noises may harm more or less your audition as well as the ones you need to be especially careful about.

Here’s an example of a hearing loss decibels chart so that you can have a better idea:

In order to protect your hearing, you should always wear some hearing protection device when you’re near a sharp and loud noise. Although only listening to some sharp noise may only affect your hearing temporarily, when there is an activity that you usually do and that requires you to be next to a loud noise for some hours in a row, make sure to get yourself a high-quality hearing protection device.

We are all subjected to numerous sources of extremely loud noises anywhere you go. Have you noticed the vacuum cleaner sound that you have at home? How about the lawnmower? And all the people talking at the restaurant with that loud background music? And in your workplace?

There are so many different situations where we need to deal with loud noises that it’s just impossible to mention them all. The real problem is when they start to affect your hearing. And when you have a permanent hearing loss, you need to know there is no cure.

One of the main benefits of wearing protection headphones or earplugs is that you are, in fact, protecting your ears. However, there are some things that you need to make sure to guarantee that you’re doing more good than harm.

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Let’s say that you just got yourself some amazing headphones. However, since you didn’t have the chance to try them on before you bought them, you notice that they don’t cover your entire ear as they should. Well, in this case, you might have a problem. When the ear cup isn’t able to completely cover your ear, the headphones won’t bring any benefit for you. In fact, they can do even more harm because they are providing you with a false sensation of security.

And about the earplugs?

Earplugs can also work very well in terms of protecting your hearing. They can either be worn alone or you can wear them with ear muffs, for example, to have a higher degree of hearing protection.

One of the problems with earplugs is that most people who actually wears them, don’t place them right in their ear.

When you buy some earplugs, it’s not by chance that they include instructions. There is a right way to put them on and a right way to take them off. Unless you’re making this right, the earplugs may start irritating your skin, they will keep falling out, and, ultimately, they won’t protect your hearing at all.

No matter if you’re getting headphones or earplugs to act as a hearing protection device, you need to know that there isn’t one best model for everyone or for every situation. The truth is that the best headphone or earplug to act as a hearing protection device varies with the size of the ear canals, with the environmental conditions, with the noise environments, with the individual comfort, and with the work activities.

As you can see, there are many things that you need to consider before buying your hearing protection device as well as when you’re using them.

If there is one advantage that clearly puts earplugs in front of the headphones is the fact they are so lightweight and so easy to carry with you all the time.

However, headphones tend to be a lot better, especially if you need to move a lot while you’re wearing them. Despite the fact that when you choose some good earplugs you make sure that they don’t fall out easily, the truth is that it’s far easier for them to fall out than for you to move your headphones by accident.

More and more often you hear people talking about hearing protection devices. Well, it’s a fact that we are now, more than ever, surrounded by loud noises. Even if you are already used to them, this doesn’t mean that they are not affecting your hearing.

One of the main problems when you don’t protect your hearing as you should is hearing loss. And once it appears, there’s no way back. Despite you can control it and still have a pretty normal life, the truth is that you won’t ever recover it.

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As we already mentioned, we are exposed to all different kinds of noises. Just take your way to work, for example. You probably get caught up in the traffic. This is a noise that can harm your hearing. Another one that you’re probably are already used to is the lawnmowers noise. Whenever you need to cut the grass, you should definitely use some hearing protection device. Some people also need to deal with loud environments at their workplace. And this means subjecting their hearing to sharp noises for a long period of time, every single work day. But noises aren’t only related to work. If you like to go to concerts, the noise level there is usually too high. So, it’s advisable that you also carry some hearing protection devices.

But how can you choose the best hearing protection device for you?

The truth is that there are 3 main types of hearing protection devices. Let’s take a closer look at each one:

#1: Ear Muffs:

Most ear muffs usually include a metal or a thermoplastic headband and the cups are usually cushioned with some acoustic foam. This is to make sure that the foam is able to absorb the sound waves by increasing air resistance. So, this will tend to decrease the amplitude of the waves.

Most ear muffs are adjustable which means they are usually able to fit any head size or shape. However, when you’re looking for some ear muffs for children, you should consider looking specifically for these models.

Some of the ear muffs advantages include:

• they aren’t easily lost or misplaced;
• they are designed to fit most head shapes and sizes;
• they usually have no relation with ear infections
• they can be seen far away which can be pretty helpful in a loud environment.

However, just like everything, ear muffs also have some drawbacks:

• they are usually heavy and aren’t portable;
• they aren’t very comfortable when you need to wear them in hot and humid areas as well as if you need to work in confined areas;
• in case you wear glasses, not all ear muffs will adapt and may lead to the ear muff not protecting your hearing as it should;
• when you need to use other protective equipment like helmets they may turn a bit inconvenient.

#2: Earplugs:

One of the most common places where you’ll find earplugs is when you’re visiting a factory or a construction site. Even though most workers should be using ear muffs instead, when you’re simply visiting, you’ll probably need to wear earplugs. And the reasons are very simple. Earplugs are very cheap and most of them are for using only once. So, there’s no better solution here.

However, earplugs can help to protect your hearing in many different situations. In fact, there are earplugs that are specially designed for sleeping, for shooting, for flying, among others.

Here are some of the main advantages of earplugs:

• You can carry them anywhere you go because they ate very small and lightweight;
• They can be used in confined working areas without any problems;
• They can be used in hot and humid areas, even for long hours;
• They are very convenient and versatile. You can either decide to wear only earplugs or you can wear the earplugs with ear muffs.

And here are the main disadvantages of earplugs:

• You may need some time to adjust how you put them on and take them off;
• They may irritate the ear canal and you may suffer some skin allergies;
• It’s difficult to see if someone is wearing earplugs when they are at a far distance;
• They can easily fall out;

• You need to have a lot of careful with their hygiene.

#3: Headphones:

When you think about listening to some of your favorite songs, you immediately think about headphones. However, you can use headphones to listen to an audiobook as well, for example.

Nowadays, headphones just have a lot of features. While some include the Bluetooth technology that allows you to connect them to another Bluetooth-ready device, others are wireless. Most have both features.

One of the things that are very different among the different headphones you can find on the market is their design. While some include an adjustable headband, others state that they will fit most head’s shapes and sizes. In what concerns the materials used, we have been seeing a trend for the use of the polyutherane material on the cushions because it’s hypoallergenic and incredibly soft.

The most modern and expensive headphones already include features such as the ability to take calls because they already have a built-in microphone, the controls are usually well placed on the side of one of the ear cups, they are usually foldable which allows you to take them with you everywhere you go, others are already waterproof meaning that you can take them to the gym without any problems.

There is, however, one main difference that is related with noise cancelling. While some headphones already feature an active noise cancelling, others remain with the passive noise cancelling.

As you can see, all these different types of hearing protection devices have advantages and disadvantages. The truth is that they can all help you protect your hearing. However, you need to make sure that you choose the best type for your needs. For example, if you work in a loud environment, it makes a lot more sense for you to get some ear muffs and, possibly, some earplugs to go along, then to buy headphones.