How To Know What Kind Of Hearing Protection To Use

There are many situations and environments in which you need hearing protection, and it’s important that you are aware of how to approach this and what kind of hearing protection you should therefore use. As it happens, it might be easier than you think to do this, as mostly it’s just a case of getting help from an audiologist. Nonetheless, it can be handy to know in advance what kind of hearing protection you need to use, and that’s what we’re going to look at here.

Here are some of the best considerations to think about when you’re trying to find hearing protection, whether for a single-use occasion or for posterity.

What Level of Noise Damages Hearing?

It’s useful to know how much noise you would actually have to be exposed to in order to experience hearing damage or loss. That way, you can better plan your life around this, and ultimately even make the right decisions to ensure that you are going to avoid those situations wherever possible as well. The rule of thumb is that 85 decibels (dBs) of sound is where your ears and hearing can start to be damaged, so that is the level above which you want to avoid as much as possible.

However, it can be hard to know what that really equates to. After all, not many of us can imagine what 85dBs actually sounds like. A good example is when you’re sitting in your car with city traffic all around you: that is roughly 85dBs. Of course, it’s not only the decibels that matter in this equation, but the length of time that you are exposed to it as well.

When Should I Think About Using Hearing Protection?

So how do you know whether you need to use hearing protection at all? Again, there is a rule of thumb to follow, which is that if you are exposed to sound levels of 85dBs or more for eight hours or more a day, then you certainly need hearing protection in some form or other. Of course, if you are around even louder sounds than that, then it will take a shorter amount of time before you need to start thinking about wearing hearing protection.

Finding a Fit for You

Once you know that you do indeed need to wear hearing protection, you then need to figure out how you are going to find a fit that works for you. That can be harder than you think, but actually it’s relatively simple as long as you know the essentials behind it, which is not too tricky to do. The main thing here is that your hearing protection fits, but also that it has the right noise reduction rate (NRR), for the situation that you find yourself in, taking into account the above as best as you can.

On top of that, there are a few main types of hearing protection which you might be able to use, so it might be helpful to know about those too.

The Types of Hearing Protection

So, what kinds of hearing protection actually exist, and which are going to be appropriate for your situation? As it happens, there are three main types that you probably want to be aware of, and which might be worth looking into. Let’s look at them now and discuss what you need to know about them.

In-Ear Earplugs

This is one of the most common types and can be useful for situations where the decibel protection doesn’t have to be all that high. Bear in mind that these can be used in accordance with other hearing protection too.

Outer Earplugs

There are also earplugs that sit just outside the ear canal, and these are going to provide a little more protection than the inner kind, again especially if used in tandem with something else.

Earmuffs

Earmuffs are generally used for particularly high-decibel situations. You can couple them up with either of the above for an even stronger level of protection.

Making Your Choice

There are pros and cons of each kind, but the main thing is to make the right choice for you. If you want help with this or with your hearing in general, consider getting in touch with an audiologist such as Peninsula Hearing. You can contact us at Poulsbo 360-697-3061 or Port Townsend 360-379-5458.