The Benefits Of Using Ear Plugs
Taking care of your hearing is a call you can't ignore. Once a person's sense of hearing gets impaired, this could affect their daily routine at work or at home. This reinforces the importance of ear plugs, which protect the ears from hazards like noise. According to Connect Hearing, noise remains to be one of the leading causes of hearing loss. People who work at particularly noisy work locations, such as airport staff, factory employees, or construction workers are especially at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. These workers need ear plugs, but this isn't to say that the product only protects you from noise. In fact, ear plugs can protect swimmers from painful infections, and can also help residents get a good night's sleep. Here's a closer look at the elements that ear plugs protect you from, the real-life benefits of ear plugs and some of the uses of ear plugs.
Ranking Noise
The loudness of noise, measured in decibels, could cause irreversible hearing loss if it goes past a threshold. According to Sleep & Sound, the human ear can only endure about 75 decibels of noise. In everyday settings, a bustling cafe, a conversation, and a whisper all fall below this level. Hair dryers, construction drills, sirens, concerts, and planes could go well above 75 decibels, making them potentially harmful. This doesn't mean that exposure to high levels of decibels outright deafens you — this only happens if you keep exposing yourself to such decibels without wearing sufficient protection.
Ear at Work
It might seem tricky to use ear plugs at work because you still need to be able to listen to your coworkers or superiors. This accounts for why some ear plugs are designed specifically for professional use, be it for roadworkers, airport crew, and such. There would be safety signs and infographics placed in workplaces to constantly remind workers to wear ear protection. Those who have to operate loud machineries such as a tractor or a drill would be expected to follow such safety protocol. Airport workers near an airplane going past 120 decibels would also need to wear ear plugs.
Taking Notes
While most workers have to deal with noise in their profession, others deal with music. Live musicians would be common examples of this, especially when they're performing at concert venues with loud music. The blaring speakers, the electric instruments, and the sheer volume of the crowd could produce high decibels that could disrupt anyone's hearing. While musicians do need ear plugs for this, they need those that can block out the noise but still let them hear music and other cues from backstage. Otherwise, live musicians might sing out of tune due to not being able to hear their back-up singers or the prerecorded audio.
Depth of Protection
Swimmers, who go about their daily training in pools or similar bodies of water, could be at risk of bacteria or other foreign matter entering their ear canals. This stresses why ear plugs protect them while swimming. Connect Hearing says that swimmers who have to traverse dirty or cold water could wear thesee products, which can keep water from getting trapped inside and then infecting the ears. Wearing ear plugs could also stave off the progress of a common ear infection called Surfer's Ear, which could cause lumps of growth in the ear canal.
Hygiene
In using ear plugs, make sure to maintain its cleanliness as well. Regular use of the products would naturally cause earwax to get on the ear plug's surface. This might build up over time if the user fails to clean the product regularly. Time-Standard explains that such a buildup could result in a bacterial infection, occurring when a pair of ear plugs are used repeatedly without cleanup. The experts recommend throwing away foam ear plugs and cleaning reusable ones like pre-molded variants. After each use, owners should store the products in ventilated cases that can prevent moisture and bacteria buildup.
Tips To Listen To
Now that the benefits of using ear plugs have been laid out, the next step would be to keep in mind how to use them and keep them clean, be it at work or at home. Musicians and other workers at noisy locations should wear ear plugs but also keep in mind oral interactions with their coworkers. Swimmers and people who dive in waters would do well to clean the products to prevent infections. As long as you heed these tips, you should be all set with your new ear plugs.
Resources — Times-Standard, Hearing Choices, Connect Hearing, Sleep & Sound
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