How to protect your hearing

Prevention of hearing impairment

As we go about our day to day lives we are bombarded with a steady stream of sounds at different levels and sometimes these sounds are so loud that they can damage your hearing. The key to keeping your hearing healthy is understanding just how much damage that loud sounds can cause.

Sudden sounds like fireworks or a shotgun are loud noises that can easily damage your hearing. Repeated exposure to sounds over a longer period of time like machinery, loud music festivals or concerts can gradually take it’s toll on your hearing without you even noticing. This type of damage is likely to be permanent.

There are many work environments that require the use of hearing protection. Musicians need protection for their ears, as do people riding motorcycles and swimmers.

You may or may not know that regular exposure to sounds at 85dB or above can affect your hearing on a more permanent basis. It’s important to know that you can protect your hearing with simple but effective preventative measures. If you’re concerned about your hearing, our team of expert hearing specialists are available to answer any questions you may have about protecting your hearing for the future, so that you never miss out on that special moment.

What can I do to protect my hearing?

The important thing to remember is that you can take preventative measures to protect your hearing.

  • Reducing the time you are exposed to high noise levels. 
  • Turn the volume down personal music devices and use sound-excluding headphone or ear buds
  • Avoid using too many noisy appliances on at the same time at home
  • When purchasing new products check the dB, the smaller the better
  • Move further away form any source of loud sounds
  • Wear hearing protection when working with noisy equipment e.g. lawn mowers

Researchers have found that antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E and betacarotene, supplements that contain magnesium can help to minimise noise-induced hearing loss. Whether these really help or not, the very best advice is never to do anything that could put your precious sense of hearing at risk of permanent damage.

Learn more about noise-induced hearing loss Learn more

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