A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) last year stated that around 1.1 billion teenagers and adults face the risk of hearing loss due to exposure to unsafe levels of sound. WHO define unsafe levels as exposure to sound that is 85 dB or over for 8 hours, or 100 dB or over for just 15 minutes.
The risk is real, but there is no reason why the danger of hearing loss should prevent people from attending loud sporting events or going to nightclubs and live music venues. Hearing protectors are widely available and can make a real difference to the health of their wearers.
In fact, a growing number of venues in the US are now providing them, with some offering free pairs to those who walk through their doors. Last year, Minneapolis City Council declared that all bars and clubs in the city that feature live music would have to make free earplugs available to patrons.
For this Spotlight feature, we take a look at a range of hearing protection products that are on the market, to evaluate what kind of options are available for people that want to protect their hearing while still enjoying all of their regular noisy pastimes.
In order to test each of the following hearing protection products, I wore them in live music venues where the levels of sound were deemed to be unsafe without protection. I paid attention to how they affected my perception of the music, as well as how easily I was able to communicate with my companions, how comfortable they felt and how simple they were to use.
Auritech Music
Auritech's Music Hearing Protectors are made from a silicone-free, hypoallergenic thermoplastic. They contain a frequency-selective ceramic filter that should allow the wearer to hear conversation and background sounds as normal but at a reduced volume.
The packaging states that the product has been independently tested and found to reduce sounds by 28.5 dB at the highest frequencies (8,000 Hz).
Wearing these earplugs was a comfortable experience, and after a short amount of time I had forgotten that I was wearing them at all. I was still able to hear mid- and top-range sounds very clearly, and holding conversation was no problem at all. I did find, however, that bass frequencies were slightly muffled.
The earplugs came with a handy container that can be clipped easily onto a keyring. I found these earplugs easy to use, extremely comfortable and effective at reducing noise with only the slightest compromise to my enjoyment of the music.
Auritech also produce a number of products tailored to different situations - their Sleep hearing protectors, for example, are designed to filter out certain disruptive sounds such as snoring while allowing the wearer to remain receptive to "alert" noises, such as alarm clocks or crying babies.
If purchasing from Auritech's website, a pair of Auritech Music hearing protectors cost around $30, with additional postage costs depending on where the product is being ordered from. The earplugs come with an aluminum storage case.
3 comments
commentsHello there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group? There's a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Thanks
Replyd looking at this, very good stuff, thank you.
ReplyI was suggested this website by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my difficulty. You are amazing! Thanks!
Reply