In our modern world, there’s a lot of noise: traffic, construction, music and even the appliances in our homes can reach high volume levels. And in this noisy environment, noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is on the rise. The good news is that NIHL is entirely preventable with the right hearing protection. One option is custom earplugs.
How Does Loud Noise Harm Hearing?
The cochlea—an organ in the inner ear—is responsible for collecting sound information and transmitting it to the brain. It does this using tiny hair-like sensory cells that line its walls. These hair cells are fragile, and any damage done to them is permanent. Broken cells cannot transmit sound information to the brain, meaning NIHL.
Loud noises have wide, powerful sound waves that enter the cochlea with force. They can flatten or break the hair cells, like a hurricane flattening trees. Some sounds, such as explosions, are so loud and powerful that they do this instantaneously. Other loud sounds may not cause immediate damage, but if you’re continuously exposed to that level of noise for hours on end, the damage adds up.
How Do Earplugs Prevent Hearing Damage?
Both simple and custom earplugs work in essentially the same way: their soft material creates a barrier that absorbs and reflects powerful sound waves so they don’t reach the inner ear. Inserted properly, earplugs can reduce noise levels by up to 33 decibels (dB).
Which Custom Earplugs Are Right for Me?
Earplugs are widely available, but they are easy to insert improperly. If you have a lifestyle, hobby or profession that has you around loud noise frequently, custom earplugs may be better for you, as they are easier to insert properly, fit your ears perfectly and have features specialized to your activities.
For example, hunters and soldiers who shoot firearms frequently are at great risk of hearing loss. A single gunshot right next to your ear can cause immediate damage to the cochlear hair cells. However, the environments hunters and soldiers are in also require sensitive hearing and awareness of one’s surroundings, meaning that an earplug that simply turns down the volume of the whole world has some major drawbacks. To help with this, custom hunter’s earplugs have sound filters that allow ambient noise through while softening the loud noise of a gunshot.
Another example is musicians and audiophiles who enjoy listening to music and going to concerts. Once again, regular earplugs are inadequate, as they can distort sounds and muffle higher pitches more than the lower, making the music sound different. Therefore, custom musician’s earplugs also use sound filtering to reduce all sounds evenly.
Where Can I Get Custom Earplugs?
You can speak to an audiologist about getting custom earplugs. After a thorough discussion of your lifestyle and what you need from your earplugs, our audiologists at Waterville Audiology will take an impression of your ear canal with a soft, foam-like material to ensure your earplugs fit your ear perfectly.
If you’re interested in obtaining a pair of custom earplugs or if you need more information about NIHL, feel free to contact us at Waterville Audiology.