


5 Tips to Protect Your Child’s Hearing
A pediatric hearing specialist at Mass. Eye and Ear offers 5 tips to protect your child's hearing.
Protecting your ears from exposure to loud, noisy environments — like concerts — can help prevent permanent damage to your hearing.
Whether you enjoy country music or old school rock, many of us have attended a concert or two over the years — and let’s face it: live music can be a great way to experience your favorite artists.
But did you know that the level of noise at these events can be quite harmful to your ears?
Excessive noise exposure is a leading cause of hearing loss. Guidelines issued by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) limit occupational exposure levels to 85 decibels (dB) for 8 hours. For every 3 dB above 85 dB, the maximum exposure duration is cut in half. This is because exposure above these levels can cause permanent damage to your ears.
For reference, the noise you hear from city traffic while inside of a car can reach up to 85 dB. Meanwhile concerts, nightclubs and even leaf blowers can reach well above 100 dB.
“Hearing loss affects millions of Americans, and it’s estimated that a quarter of those cases are likely due to overexposure to noise,” said Stéphane F. Maison, PhD, CCC-A, an audiologist and hearing scientist at Mass. Eye and Ear. “Getting in the habit of wearing hearing protection at events like concerts could preserve your ability to hear.”
Ear plugs for noise come in many different forms:
“Ask yourself how often and how long you expose your ears to loud sounds,” Dr. Maison said. “If you are a frequent concertgoer, a musician or a construction worker, invest in a pair of custom-made ear plugs. For the occasional firework display, a pair of foam ear plugs will do the job.”
When selecting ear plugs, it is important to look at the “noise reduction rate,” or “NRR.” This will tell you what level of protection you will get.
The NRR varies from 15 to 35 dB – the higher the NRR, the more noise reduction it provides. Concert music levels can reach between 100 to 120 dB. At these levels, NIOSH recommends exposure duration to not exceed 15 minutes at 100 dB and 7 seconds at 120 dB.
Dr. Maison recommends wearing ear plugs that provide enough noise reduction to bring your intake below the 85 dB mark (if you wear ear plugs with an NRR of 35 dB to a concert, then your intake level will likely range from 65 to 85 dB).
Of course, it can be difficult to know just how much noise is around you. In these situations, there are a number of free smartphone decibel meter apps that can help you measure.
Once you find the right style and fit for you, you have to make sure you use them properly. It is common for people to place ear plugs in their ears incorrectly, which leaves them unknowingly exposed to harmful sounds.
The method used for placing silicone/wax earplugs in your ears is quite similar to foam ear plugs. For the custom-made, however, it can be bit different. Ask your audiologist to walk you through proper placement.
Earplugs may seem like a nuisance, but the benefits from wearing them unquestionably outweigh the burden. We encourage you to give ear plugs a try at your next concert. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you get used to them.
“It’s a good thing to buy ear plugs, but it’s much better to wear them,” Dr. Maison said.
If you’d like to invest in reusable or custom-made ear plugs, call Mass. Eye and Ear Audiology at 617-573-3266 or request an appointment online.
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