Wearing Earplugs Seems Trendy Right Now, But The Benefits Go Way Deeper Than Just An Aesthetic Choice

Wearing Earplugs Seems Trendy Right Now, But The Benefits Go Way Deeper Than Just An Aesthetic Choice,How much sound is too much sound?

Wearing Earplugs Seems Trendy Right Now, But The Benefits Go Way Deeper Than Just An Aesthetic Choice

I love when something that’s actually good for us becomes super trendy. The internet can be such a wasteland of depressing information, and if I can’t help being emotionally dependent on an algorithm, then it might as well feed my brain something beneficial to my life. I mean, positive peer pressure just works, because we’ve seen this over the years with the emerging popularity of skincare routines, reading books, and most recently: wearing earplugs.

Dr. Taylor explained that it isn’t just the marketing and its higher price point that makes concert earplugs stand out, but that they’re actually beneficial for the experience itself at loud events.

“For concerts, I would recommend earplugs specifically designed for music because they come with a filter. All the concert plugs have a filter so the sound is coming in, but the volume is adjusted across the frequency range, whereas with a foam plug (or any plug without a filter), you’re going to get a ton of bass-y and high frequency sounds. Foam earplugs aren’t good for concerts when it comes to sound quality.”

This doesn’t mean that foam earplugs are ineffective for hearing protection, just that there are different earplugs for different situations. She told BuzzFeed, “Ear plugs are very safe as long as they are worn correctly! Squishy foam plugs that insert into the ear canal are often not inserted deep enough, but the concert design earplugs are hard to mess up.”

Netflix / Via giphy.com

When it comes to “how much sound is too much sound?” Dr. Taylor explained, “Anything over 80 decibels is harmful. There’s a time limit for how long you can safely be in that environment.”

“80 decibels = eight hours safely. Concerts tend to reach well over 100 decibels and go for a few hours, which you can technically only safely be in [without protection] for 10–15 minutes.” It’s good to know how many decibels put our ears in dangerous territory, but how can we even know how many decibels a sound is exuding in the first place? Dr. Taylor says, “I recommend to readers that they download a decibel meter app on their smartphones.”

A quick search in the app store revealed how accessible this is, because there are more than enough to choose from:

Apple / Via Kelsie Hammond

So, now that we know that hearing loss by noise exposure is the only kind of hearing loss that’s preventable — what can we expect when it comes to hearing loss due to aging? Is there a certain age that’s basically doomsday for our hearing?

“Hearing loss is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Genetics are out of our control, and some people are just more predisposed to it. I don’t have an exact an exact age…” Dr. Taylor explained, “But I would recommend that people around age 45 should see a licensed audiologist for a baseline hearing test to establish and make sure there is normal hearing and you haven’t accidentally caused any hearing loss. This is typically covered by insurance, too.”