When it comes to loud noises, live concerts, sports events, and heavy machinery are almost certain to have left our ears ringing at some point.
Many of us will be aware of the damaging effects that excessively loud noises such as these can have on our hearing.
But did you know everyday items like hair dryers, showers, blenders, or washing machines could also have a detrimental impact on your hearing over a sustained period?
Household items like these could potentially pose more harm, due to their daily and frequent use without people recognising the associated dangers.
When it comes to harmful noises, the NHS warns that anything over 70 decibels (the measurement of sound) could contribute to hearing loss over sustained periods, while noises over 120 decibels could cause irreparable and immediate damage.
To put this in context, loud music played through headphones is between 100 and 110 decibels, while a normal conversation is 60 decibels.
Work around the home is surprisingly noisy and potentially deafening. Your lawnmower produces noise up to 90dB. Your Electric Drill up to 100dB.
So, every noise adds up!
According to charity Action on Hearing Loss, exposure to loud noises is the second biggest cause of hearing loss today, with up to 14.5 million people set to suffer with some form of this by 2031.
One of the main reasons behind this significant increase was attributed to an ageing population, who over the years had been exposed to loud noises.
Workplaces are also behind a number of cases of Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), with safety experts Arco reporting that there were an estimated 21,000 workers with industry-related hearing problems between 2017 and 2018.
It claims that NIHL is one of the biggest occupational health issues facing us today.
So how can we avoid causing irreparable damage to our hearing when some noises are just unavoidable?
In order to limit the damage, the NHS recommends avoiding exposure to excessively loud noise where possible. This includes not overly using headphones or turning their volume up to maximum.
Hearing protection, such as hearing plugs and ear plugs, could be the key to preventing avoidable daily damage to our ears.
At Minerva Hearing, we have a range of plugs to protect, enhance and preserve your hearing. From plugs which create a secure acoustic seal against noise, to those which include a high-fidelity acoustic filter, allowing your ears to hear the sounds you want to hear whilst reducing the overall volume.
Your hearing is a vital sense which you need to look after for your work and leisure lifestyle choices, so browse our products to see how we can help preserve your valuable hearing, enhance your audio experience and protect against harmful noise levels.
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