Protecting Your Hearing and Ears From The Noise Of The World Around You

Hearing protection is important to protect from hearing loss

The average person may only come into contact with extremely loud noises on occasions. Such as a concert, listening to live music, an air or car show, or a day at a carnival.   Typically, the noises you deal with on a daily basis are not going to damage your hearing. However, if you are in a line of work in which you are constantly surrounded by loud noise, you may find yourself with hearing loss before retirement – unless you are protecting your hearing. Musicians, construction workers, hunters, machinists, pilots, airline workers, and any number of other professions are surrounded by loud noises daily. While these people cannot completely cover their ears, since they need to be aware of their surroundings and communicate easily. They can use hearing protection to reduce the risk of serious damage to their hearing.

THE ISSUES – NOISE

The reason certain professions may cause a problem for your hearing relates to the number of decibels an ear can handle for an extended period of time. Average daily activities typically are around 60 decibels or less. The hearing mechanism can handle 85 decibels before it starts to have a problem. However, the problem not only relates to how loud the decibels are but also how often and long you are exposed to this level of noise. For instance, a person mowing their lawn once a month for 10 minutes would likely not have to wear any protective gear. Although it would be helpful to protect from the stress of noise. However, a landscaper, who is surrounded by the sounds of a lawnmower multiple times a day at 90 decibels, would require protective gear for his hearing.

In general, children have more sensitive hearing than adults. Therefore, when they are exposed to things such as an air show, a parade, a loud concert, or even fireworks, they are likely to be affected even more by the loud noises and require protection for their ears.

THE FIX – PROTECTING YOUR HEARING

Many of us have seen and maybe even purchased noise-canceling headphones to wear to events or work. However, there are other options available that are custom-made and are less clunky, and provide easier movement overall.   These products can be made to fit your ear’s unique shape for a snug fit and easy mobility.   One style of mold is the musician molds that have filters. It can make it easier for individuals who work in a field where they need to speak with others and hear themselves, while still protecting their ears from the louder noises.  Another type of mold is a ‘hunters mold’.  This type of protection has an amplifier, amplifying soft sounds, but protects at the same time while plugging your ears and amplifying only when there is no loud noise.  It isn’t perfect and is mostly for normal hearing individuals as the amplifier is not powerful.  It does has a fast attack time so that it doesn’t amplify gunfire which is great for police officers and hunters who use a gun.

For those that require the actual physical protection of their ears, however, harder noise-canceling and/ or attention headphones may be the best option to protect. They may create a difficult time in communication,  but they will be protecting your hearing and your entire hearing mechanism.

To learn more about your options for protection for work or play, contact the experts at Hears to U and Hears Hearing & Hearables.

Acoustic earplugs that provide high-quality sound with no loss for pro-musicians and live music lovers.

  • The world's only variable passive HiFi filter

  • Stepless manual adjustment (7-25dB)

  • 10-year warranty

$185.00
Members Pay: $170
The Percussive Filters protect users from the peak sound pressure of gunshots, and explosions, suppressing them to safe levels. When a percussive noise is not present the filters allow you to hear ambient noise. The filters are ANSI IPIL certified up to 166 dB with a max NRR of 31.
$75.00
Decibullz Custom Molded Earplugs are easily and quickly fitted to the exact shape of your ear for an NRR of 31.
Starting at
$26.00

*Please note this is a special order item and typically takes 2 weeks until it can be shipped out. Please contact us with any questions!

Why Choose Electronic Hearing Protection? Sure, passive hearing protection might be easier on the wallet, but it’s not exactly a listener's dream. These basic protectors don’t discriminate—they lower everything, from the softest whispers to the loudest bangs. So, if you're trying to chat or catch important sounds, you might find yourself in a frustrating game of “What did you say?” Enter electronic hearing protection, the hero of the hour. Powered by a smart, battery-operated circuit, this tech-savvy gear is constantly monitoring the sound around you. Normal, safe sounds? They come through crystal clear. But when things get too loud, the magic happens—sound levels are automatically reduced before they can harm your ears. This means you can keep your protection in place all day at the range. You’ll hear your instructor just as you would without protection when there’s no loud noise. But when the shooting starts, or if noisy machinery kicks in, you’re instantly shielded without missing a beat. GSE Rechargeable earplugs take it up a notch with Etymotic’s ACCU•Technology. Featuring high-definition balanced-armature drivers, high-sensitivity microphones, and the impressive K•AMP® signal processing, they deliver unmatched sound clarity and protection, keeping your ears happy and safe.
$400.00
24SNR 16 NRR Are you in a work environment that is too loud? These are nice hearing protection options by Phonak. These molds Help reduce machine noise and heavy equipment noise. Is it the best protection you can get, no but these are comfortable and good!
Contact For Pricing
Members Pay: $45

Vibes Hi-Fidelity Earplugs (made by a Minneapolis company and seen on TV's Shark Tank) are discreet, reusable earplugs designed for sound quality.

Instead of blocking out/muffling sounds, Vibes reduce the volume of loud environments to a safer and more comfortable level that prevents hearing damage (average reduction of 22dB), while still allowing you to hear everything clearly. Vibes' clear, low-profile design make it easy to be discreet about wearing hearing protection in public.  
$28.00
Members Pay: $24.95