The Link Between ENT Health and Overall Wellness
When you think about staying healthy, you might focus on eating well,
Wearing effective hearing protection is essential when it comes to safeguarding your hearing health, especially if any of the following apply:
If any of the above circumstances apply, or you are just seeking to protect your hearing as well as possible, then finding the right hearing protection should be considered essential.
You are likely aware that exposure to loud noises can be harmful to hearing, but the level of noise that is considered to be capable of causing permanent damage is often underestimated. Noise does not need to be painfully loud to be causing harm, and many common sounds cross the safe threshold. Here are a few examples:
All of the above are relatively common to hear, but they all have the potential to contribute to hearing loss in the future – especially if exposure to the noise is for a prolonged period of time.
Finding the right hearing protection first requires you to consider the options, with the following the most common:
Most forms of hearing protection will be rated depending on the number of decibels they can block; this is known as a “noise reduction rating,” or NRR. The highest NRR is 33 (as in 33 decibels), but – somewhat confusingly – the NRR listed on the packaging or product information for a type of hearing protection may not reflect its actual ability to reduce sound levels. As a result, you will need to reduce the listed NRR by the following degrees for each of the following types of hearing protection:
For example, if you are buying earmuffs with an NRR of 33, those earmuffs would be capable of reducing the number of decibels you are exposed to by 8.25.
The NRR will tell you if the hearing protection you are considering will block enough decibels for your purposes, to reduce levels to between 70-80 decibels.
In some circumstances, choosing the right form of hearing protection involves selecting multiple types of hearing protection. If, for example, you work on a construction site where decibels regularly reach over 110 decibels, then you may need to wear both earmuffs and earplugs to bring the sound levels down to a safer level.
As the above points demonstrate, choosing the right hearing protection can be incredibly complex, and given the importance of protecting your hearing, it is vital to get it right. As a result, it is usually best to discuss your requirements with an ENT specialist or similar professional, so they can make a recommendation as to the type of hearing protection that is most suited to your needs.
You can learn more about ENT Physicians Inc. and the hearing protection we offer by calling (419) 318-4987 today.
When you think about staying healthy, you might focus on eating well,
Dealing with ear, nose or throat (ENT) emergencies can be a challenging
Understanding the connection between migraines and ear, nose and throat