Hearing Safety
Health Effects of Noise
Exposure to high levels of noise can cause permanent hearing loss. Neither surgery nor a hearing aid can help correct this type of hearing loss. Short term exposure to loud noise can also cause a temporary change in hearing (your ears may feel stuffed up) or a ringing in your ears (tinnitus). These short-term problems may go away within a few minutes or hours after leaving the noise. However, repeated exposures to loud noise can lead to permanent tinnitus and/or hearing loss.
Loud noise can create physical and psychological stress, reduce productivity, interfere with communication and concentration, and contribute to workplace accidents and injuries by making it difficult to hear warning signals. The effects of noise induced hearing loss can be profound, limiting your ability to hear high frequency sounds, understand speech, and seriously impairing your ability to communicate.
The following references provide assistance in recognizing the health effects of excessive noise.
- Occupational exposure to noise: evaluation, prevention and control. World Health Organization (WHO). Provides an in depth look at all aspects of noise.
- Noise at Work. European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). Noise topic page from EU-OSHA, including guidance materials, publications, standards, reports, and other resources, such as the following:
- Better Hearing Institute. Educational resources on noise and hearing loss.
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
Promotes the interests of and provides the highest quality services for
professionals in audiology, speech-language pathology, and speech and
hearing science, and advocates for people with communication
disabilities.
- Hearing Loss. Provides the signs of hearing loss, and statistics about its prevalence among adults.
Article Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Negative impact of untreated hearing loss
Studies show that hearing loss can cause someone to be irritable, angry negative, stressed, depressed, tense, and fatigue. These can lead to reduced alertness, job performance and psychological and overall health.
If you put two and two together, the result is increased risk to personal safety and earning power. How else can anyone do their job well when their hearing loss is causing them stress and irritability?
The same study also showed that people suffering from this condition tend to avoid or withdraw from any social interaction or situation, causing them to feel lonely and rejected. Whichever way you look at it, hearing loss should not be taken for granted.
So if you know you will be exposed to hazardous noise at work, take necessary precautions to protect your hearing. And one of the best ways to do that is to use noise cancelling ear plugs. They can block or muffle ambient noise or annoying sounds and bring in more benefits.
Why use ear plugs
- Protect your hearing from noise or the sound of the wind
- Prevent or reduce the risk of tinnitus
- Reduce the amount of airflow to the inner ear
Using earplugs when going to sleep will also help with a good night’s sleep by simply reducing ambient noise. It is also considered a low-tech cure for when you are suffering from sea sickness.
Who needs high fidelity ear plugs
People exposed to noise levels of over 85 decibels should wear earplugs. These include anyone working with a lawnmower or power saw, which is at 107 and 110 decibels, respectively. Peak stadium crowd noise is at an estimated 130 decibels, which makes musicians susceptible to hearing loss. Add to this the noise that musical instruments and loudspeakers make, and they definitely need noise cancelling ear plugs.
But the people who seriously need high fidelity ear plugs are those working in industries and workplaces where hazardous noise are part and parcel of the job. These include agriculture, construction, manufacturing, mining, aviation, music, firefighters, and an indoor firing range.
Anywhere where the noise levels are over 85 decibels require the use of ear plugs.
The best noise cancelling ear plugs
Ear plugs are not perfect and poorly designed plugs or plugs that don't fit your ear properly can have risks, especially when worn long-term. But as long as proper usage is followed and you use a good quality plug, everything should be just fine. So it pays to choose the best product on the market and we sincerely believe our Earmonix brand delivers the best quality and comfort available in personal ear plug design.
Quiet but not deaf
It’s one thing to block or muffle ambient noise, but another to not hear anything at all. The best ear plugs should have acoustic filters that keep the noise levels down, but still allow speech to penetrate and be recognized.
High quality and effective
Choose ear plugs that have gone through rigorous testing and strict quality control. Remember that your ears are sensitive and the wrong plug can cause more harm than good.
When it comes to hearing protection, you should be all ears.