Why is Ear Protection Important?

Most people do not fully appreciate the impact that loud noises can have on their future hearing loss. It can become easy to take your hearing for granted until it is too late. To protect against hearing loss, it is important to protect your ears from loud noises. Avoiding loud noises and environments is great, but cannot always be a viable option. Using ear protection is one way that you can protect your hearing even when you have to be exposed to loud noises. There are many reasons ear protection is important.

Ears are delicate and fragile

Your ear contains the smallest bones in the human body. It also contains an intricate series of small parts that need to work together flawlessly to help you hear. Your outer ear funnels in the sounds around you. After that, it reaches your eardrum. The eardrum vibrates which sends the sounds further into your ear. The middle section of your ear amplifies the vibrations and sends them to your inner ear. The inner ear uses an electrical impulse to send signals to the brain along the auditory nerve. Your brain then translates it into sound. All of these tiny parts need to work together in order for you to hear. If even one of them is slightly damaged, that is going to affect how you hear. The more damage you receive, the more hearing loss you will sustain. Once damaged, these small parts of the ear are not often able to be restored.

Noise-induced hearing loss can be prevented

If you could prevent hearing loss, you of course would want to do so. Not all kinds of hearing loss can be prevented, but everyone can take measures to make sure any future hearing loss is not caused by the damage of loud noises. Loud noises cause more hearing loss than any other kind, even old age. Using earplugs or earmuffs when you will be around loud noises can go a long way towards preventing hearing loss. Consulting your audiologist to decide what ear protection is right for you will help you make the right choice.

Hearing is important for safety

Being able to hear and be aware of your surroundings contributes largely to your safety. You can hear when the doorbell rings at your home or when a car honks its horn at you on the road. Being able to hear is very important. It is also inconvenient. We are not able to have personal conversations as everyone involved needs to speak loudly to participate. Miscommunication can also lead to accidents or misunderstandings.

Some noise is unavoidable

Simply avoiding loud noises would surely help with this, but sometimes it cannot be avoided. Construction sites and garages are noisy environments, and some people have to work there. Musicians are also exposed to a lot of loud noises. There are countless other professions that also have to deal with loud noises. Even if you don’t work in a noisy environment, you will have to mow your lawn or do other loud activities. Loud noises are unavoidable, so talking with your audiologist about how to protect your hearing is important.