What is World Hearing Day?
World Hearing Day is held every year on 3rd March. The aim of World Hearing Day is to raise awareness on how to prevent hearing loss and promote hearing care. Both of these aims are important to us at Leeds Audiology Clinic so we love shouting about World Hearing Day every year!
“To hear for life, listen with care”
We LOVE this year’s theme as it’s such an important message. There are so many ways that our ears can be damaged through noise and the longer we can care for them, the longer we can hear. We’re all guilty of neglecting our hearing in one way or another. Listening to loud music for long periods of time, going to gigs or using noisy tools/products can cause noise damage.
How loud is too loud?
The best answers to this question can be found at RNID. Here are a couple of key points that are explained on the page:
- Sounds under 85dB are safe to listen to without hearing protection
- The amount of time you’re exposed to noise matters – 15 minutes in an average nightclub playing music at 100dB can cause damage
- If you can’t talk to someone 2m away without shouting because of background noise, it’s too loud
How can I protect my hearing?
There are lots of ways to protect your hearing such as:
- Turning down the volume – whether that’s the TV, radio or through headphones
- Take regular breaks when wearing headphones or listening to loud music – just five minutes every hour or so can help
- Wear hearing protection when you can’t avoid loud situations
- Limit the length of time you’re exposed to loud sounds
What ear protection can I use?
We offer a number of different options for ear protection.
Non Custom Ear Protection – Alpine Plugs
These over the counter plugs are really discreet and come in a small travel case. The plugs pictured below are the ‘Party Plugs’ and belong to our clinic manager, Emily. “The Party Plugs were really handy when I used to work in a busy pub. After a band night my ears would often ring for a couple of days and I was keen to protect my hearing. With the plugs I could still hear the music and hear customers at the bar but the noise was drastically reduced. I also didn’t suffer from tinnitus after a loud shift which was great.”
Custom Ear Protection
For custom products we take an impression of the ear to get the best possible fit. Custom ear plugs are great for shooting, motorsports and industry. We offer plugs from various manufacturers as different products suit different needs. The plugs shown below are Puretone Shooting Plugs. These custom plugs can be filtered, and battery operated and come in a range of designs and colours.
If you have any questions about hearing protection, please get in touch!