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Long-term effects of noise exposure: Safeguarding your hearing

September 16, 2024 4 min read

Poor-fitting or incorrectly inserted earplugs or earmuffs could cost you your hearing.

Hear us out – Your ear canal is as unique as your fingerprint. This is why the common misconception that "a plug is a plug" when it comes to hearing protection is so dangerous. Hazardous noise levels capable of permanently damaging your hearing can be found in all sorts of environments:

Industrial workplaces

Concert venues

Shooting ranges

Even some recreational activities like snowmobiling or woodworking.

Unlike other workplace injuries, hearing damage happens over decades, gradually and silently – and failure to protect against or recognize damage from hazardous noise can cause life-long consequences.

And once your hearing is gone, it’s not coming back.

HEARING PROTECTION IS ABOUT DECIBLES – AND CONSISTENT WEAR

Hearing protection is crucial, both in the workplace and in everyday life. It's not just about the noise levels you're exposed to, but also how long you're exposed to them.

In industrial or noisy workplaces, wearing your hearing protection consistently is key – if you remove your earplugs or earmuffs for just five minutes during an eight-hour workday, you lose 40% of the protection they provide.

In fact, if you remove your hearing protection for a total of 30 minutes over that eight-hour shift, your actual protection goes from 30 dB down to just 12 dB – a 60% reduction in protection. More on decibels and what they mean in the next section!

Even if you wear your hearing protection the rest of the time; that 30 minutes of unprotected exposure can make a big difference.

Hearing damage can happen from everyday noises too, like lawn mowers, concerts, or even loud restaurants. The "120 second (about 2 minutes) rule" is a good guideline – if you have to raise your voice to be heard by someone an arm's length away, the noise is likely too loud. You should wear hearing protection or limit your time in that environment.

Butexactly how loud is too loud?

TAKE PRECAUTIONS WHEN NOISE IS 85 DB OR HIGHER

Let’s explore different noise levels and when to wear hearing protection:

Low noise levels:

Many of the sounds we encounter in our daily lives fall into a relatively "safe" range, typically under 85 dB. This includes:

Normal conversation (60 dB)
Background music (70 dB)
Office environment (60 dB - 70 dB)
Light traffic (70 dB)
Washing machine (70-75 dB)

Everyday tasks you may think are completely harmless can pose a threat to your hearing.

When hearing is unprotected at around the 85 dB noise level for one to two hours – think, mowing the lawn (90 dB) – hearing damage is possible. Other activities you may think are safe may require hearing protection such as:

Blender (88 dB - 90 dB)
Garbage trucks (85 dB - 95 dB)
Industrial machinery (85 dB - 90 dB)
Some power tools (ex: drill) (85 dB - 95 dB)

Recommended hearing protection

For this level of noise exposure, we recommend our safeComm® earplugs or K-Series® K1 earmuffs. These products help reduce noise levels up to 20db (safeComm®) and 23dB (K1).

Medium noise levels:

Louder sounds around 95-100 dB such as:

Power tools (ex: Chainsaw) (95 dB - 100 dB)

Motorcycle engine (97 dB)

Lawn mowing (95 dB - 100 dB)

Fall under the medium requirement for hearing protection. When hearing is unprotected at this noise level for as little as 15 minutes, hearing damage becomes a real possibility. This could manifest as temporary hearing loss, which can happen at any point during exposure to these hazardous decibels.

Recommended hearing protection

We recommend our simpleFit® disposable and reusable guided earplugs or K-Series® K2 earmuffs. These products help reduce noise levels up to 27db (simpleFit®) and 26dB (K2).

High noise level:

Exposure to the highest industrial noise levels, often ranging from 100-115 dB, poses a high threat to your hearing that can manifest in as little as 5 minutes. Sounds in this decibel range include:

Powerful impact tools (ex: nail gun) (100 dB - 115 dB)

Music through headphones at max volume (100 dB - 110 dB)

Heavy machinery (105 dB - 110 dB)

Rock concert (110 dB)

But the dangers don't end there. Prolonged, repeated exposure to sounds above 100 dB can cause permanent, irreversible damage–- including a constant, debilitating ringing or buzzing in the ears known as tinnitus.

This distressing condition, for which there is currently no cure, can severely impact your quality of life, making it difficult to concentrate, sleep, or enjoy peaceful silence.

Recommended hearing protection

For this level of decibel exposure, we recommend pairing our accuFit® disposable earplugs and K-Series® K2 earmuffs – which reduce noise levels up to 32 dB (accuFit®) and 26 dB (K2) = a total decibel level reduction of 58 dB.

Very high noise levels:

When you encounter noise levels that exceed 115 dB, the risk of immediate and severe hearing damage becomes critical. These extreme decibel levels can be found in sudden bursts of sounds from sources like the

Wail of a police or emergency vehicle siren (120 dB)

Powerful impact of a concrete chipper (120 dB)

Explosive blast of a shotgun (140-170 dB)

Detonation of firecrackers (150 dB).

Exposure to these ear-splitting sounds can lead to permanent hearing loss in seconds. In these very high noise situations, dual hearing protection is absolutely essential.

Recommended hearing protection

We recommend using our accuFit® disposable earplugs paired with our highest-rated K-Series® K3 earmuffs. Together, these two products help to reduce up to 62 dB - 32 dB (accuFit®) and 30dB (K3).

WE HAVE PERSONALIZED HEARING PROTECTION

Protecting your hearing is not just a choice—it's a necessity. With the potential for permanent damage from everyday sounds, investing in the right hearing protection is essential for both your safety and quality of life. Luckily, we have several industry-leading options of hearing protection that can be personalized to your environment to help protect you from hearing loss.