Uncle Derek is going to a lot of concerts recently, watching bands like Kings of Leon (I think he might be going through a mid life crisis).

• Present Idea: Musician Ear plugs, band t-shirt, whistle and a CD.

Aunty Margaret has been saying she wants to go on a diet after Christmas along with some gentle exercise.

• Present Idea: Home workout DVD, swimming ear plugs, water blocker for the nose and a work out vest.

Cousin Tim loves his motorcycle and watching extreme sports.

• Present idea – Extreme sports DVD, motorcycle ear plugs, Biography of Erik Weihenmayer

Cousin Frank has recently moved to the country to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but has got a bit of a pest problem.

• Present idea – Country cooking book, shooting ear plugs, vegetable seeds, gardening tools.

Cousin Gemma is a lover of old fashion films and vintage (a bit of a fashionista).

• Present Idea – The Red Shoes DVD, Vintage jewellery, JenGen ear plugs – just like the ones Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

O dear! Well I know what I would rather if I had to choose between thinking I have concussion and permanent hearing loss after firing a gun! Shooting ear plugs are the perfect protection when shooting a gun for fun or for a film. the level of noise can reach up to a staggering 163 decibels!

Nearly 1 in 7 people in the UK are affected by deafness or significant hearing difficulty. That’s around 9 million people. Of these, 35,000 are children and young people between the ages of 0 and 25. Around 840 babies are born every year in the UK with impaired hearing in both ears. The majority of children end up with hearing problems due to chronic infection of the middle ear.

At the other end of the spectrum, age-related deafness is seen in 55% of adults over 60 and 70% of adults over the age of 70.

Nearly 87% of hearing damage is sensorineural deafness. Sensorineural deafness results when the tiny sensors in the ear canal are damaged. This happens due to a number of reasons: exposure to loud noise, viral or bacterial infections, genetics, medicines or aging.

In light of this, what can you do to protect your hearing? Obviously, the easiest way to protect your hearing is to wear hearing protection such as earplugs when you know you’ll be exposed to loud noises. Muscian’s earplugs can be used when attending concert or music venues. As well, they can be used when playing an instrument (especially the drums).

You can purchase inexpensive foam earplugs for doing normal chores such as mowing the lawn or using power equipment when doing household projects. Do you have a noisy hobby or special interest? Consider motorcycle earplugs or shooter’s earplugs if you participate in one of these hobbies.

As well, remember to give your ears a break from noise by ceasing the activity now and again and resuming in 15 minutes or so. Turn down the volume on your personal music device or order custom fleximonitors for quality sound without the damaging decibels. Make sure you control the volume on your child’s toys.

Proper nutrition can help protect your ears from damage. How? Just like any other part of your body, the components of your inner ear require nutrients to remain healthy. Taking in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains will strengthen all the cells in your body. Make sure ear infections and other infections such as sinus or sore throats receive proper treatment.

If you have any hearing troubles while taking a new medication, make sure you speak with your physician about it immediately before permanent damage occurs. In some cases, such as heart medications, tinnitus is a side effect, but you should never discontinue important medicines such as these without speaking with your doctor. The tinnitus may be temporary as your body adjusts to the medication. Your physician can advise you further on the next course of action.

Perhaps. According to Deafness Research UK, some power tools can reach decibel levels that would require hearing protection at the workplace. Unfortunately, people at home may not take this seriously. If you’ve never had a job where hearing protection was required, you might not know about the risks of noise-induced hearing loss.

If you are exposed to decibel levels above 85 for an extended period of time, you may be damaging your ears. Tiny little hair like cilia line the inner ear. They are responsible for receiving noise vibrations and sending these signals to the brain where they are interpreted. When loud noises damage these cilia, they cannot be repaired by the body. Overtime, this can lead to permanent, irreversible hearing damage.

Some power tools can reach over 90 decibels, meaning exposure to these tools may cause hearing damage if proper measures aren’t taken to reduce the damaging decibels.

Deafness Research UK lends the following advice for DIY folks and others who may be exposed to loud noises during leisure activities:

• Use earplugs. Earplugs can be unobtrusive and will not block out the sound of

music or conversation. In fact, by blocking the excess noise, they can improve

your ability to make out conversation and music. If worn correctly, earplugs can

reduce sound levels by between 15 and 35 dBA. Special earplugs are available

for musicians.

• Take regular breaks from the music or other noise source. Aim for at least ten

minutes’ break every hour.

• Give your ears time to recover after exposure to excessive noise. Exposure to a

100 dBA sound for around two hours requires at least 16 hours of rest for the

ears if the hearing loss is not to become permanent. A minority of people are

more sensitive and a longer period of rest may be required.

• Avoid standing too close to the speakers or other noise source.

• Don’t go to noisy places too often, and try less noisy pastimes.

Other leisure activities may require earplugs as well. There are many different types of earplugs to protect your hearing so you can enjoy your activities for many years!

Motorcycle Earplugs

Shooting Earplugs

Musician’s Earplugs

Swimming Earplugs

Men’s Earplugs

For the most part, men can use standard size earplugs. Whether you need shooter’s earplugs, sports earplugs, work earplugs or sleep earplugs, there are plenty of choices. For those who need earplugs on a regular basis, reusable earplugs are a cost-effective way to ensure you have protection available at all times. If you are unsure which foam earplugs you should buy, you can purchase Macks and Moldex Sample pack.

ProGuard makes custom earplugs, so even if you have difficult to fit ear canals, you’ll be able to enjoy comfortable earplugs designed specifically for your ears.

Women’s Earplugs

Most women can use the same earplugs as men; however, women’s earplugs are designed for smaller ear canals. Macks SafeSound Earplugs for her are super comfortable for women. It’s important you purchase earplugs that fit your ear canal not only for comfort, but for effectiveness. If your earplugs do not fit properly, your ears won’t be fully protected. If you have a flair for fun fashion, try JenGen Blue Tassel Earplugs. These Audrey Hepburn style earplugs have fun blue tassels.

ProGuard makes custom earplugs for women as well. The process is simple. Order the earplug kit from ProGuard and you’ll be given instructions for your appointment at the audio lab where a impressions will be taken of your ears. You simply mail the impressions back in the prepaid box, and your custom earplugs will arrive in just 14 days.

Children’s Earplugs

You may not think your child’s ears need to be protected, but with today’s toys and electronics, your child is at an even bigger risk of damaging their hearings than you were as a child. Some toys can reach decibel levels of 150! (Damage can begin anywhere above 85 dB.) In fact, it’s important you monitor the volume level on your children’s toys. If the toy cannot be adjusted, chances are it doesn’t pass safety standards and you should contact the manufacturer.

For your budding musician, Etymotic makes musician’s earplugs designed to fit smaller ear canals. For your older child, you may be able to order custom earphones designed for iPods and other portable devices. The custom earphones allow studio quality music in at lower decibel levels so your teen’s ears are protected.

I’m a music lover (yes, I know I’ve mentioned this a time or two), and the way I view hearing protection is akin to the way I view protecting and appreciating any gift. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t hear my music or other important sounds such as my children laughing, singing or even telling one of those incessant knock-knock jokes.

For me, wearing musician’s earplugs when I attend concerts or clubs is a must. The music actually sounds much better and a don’t have to suffer from the annoying muffle or ringing in my ears after the show. Not only does this protect my hearing and ensure I’ll be able to hear my music for many years to come, but what if I run into one of my favourite musician’s after the show someday? I’d hate to miss out on that conversation!

I also use custom earphones or fleximonitors when I listen to my iPod. The attenuating filters allow studio quality music into my ears while filtering out distortion. This way, I can enjoy the music to its fullest degree without cranking up the volume.

My children are too young for fleximonitors, so I bought external speakers for their bedrooms so they wouldn’t have earphones in all the time. It’s important to monitor the volume on your child’s personal music device or handheld gaming device. Check with them while they are using these items by asking them a question in a normal voice. If you have to yell, they have it up too loud. Or, you might be asking them a question they don’t want to answer, so ask something like “Would you like some ice cream?” rather than “Did you do your homework?”

Enjoying music is perhaps the biggest area in my life where hearing protection is required, but there are certainly other instances for hearing protection. Motorcyclists, sharpshooters, hunters and other sporting enthusiasts should definitely wear motorcycle earplugs, shooter’s earplugs or sporting earplugs. If you have anyone on your holiday list who could benefit from hearing protection, you might want to throw a pair of inexpensive earplugs in their gift bag and spread the word about this important area of preventative health.

Remember, hearing damage is permanent! It’s not something that should be ignored, and I hope music lovers and sporting enthusiasts alike begin to deem a simple thing like earplugs a little more important.

Cheers!
Meghan

You don’t want to end up wearing hearing aids like Sir Rocco Forte who neglected to wear earplugs over his years of grouse shooting. He suffered permanent, irreversible hearing damage. Adequate, comfortable hearing protection is essential to protect your ears from the highly damaging decibels of gunshot.

Hearing damage can occur at decibel levels as low as 85, and a firearm’s decibel levels can be well over 140 decibels. As the shooter, you could experience some level of hearing damage from one shot. As a beater or part of the shooting party, you still need hearing protection even if you’re not firing a gun. Hearing damage can occur over repeated exposure to decibel levels over 85.

Avid shooters should consider investing in a pair of custom shooter earplugs. The earplugs are custom designed to replicate the exact shape of your ear canal. This offers the highest level of protection as well as comfort. ProGuard sends a no hassle kit that you will take with you to an audiologist. Impressions of your ears will be taken. Send the impressions back in the postage paid box and in 14 days, your custom shooter earplugs will be at your doorstep.

Shooter earplugs for the shooting party and beaters are also available. Silicone shooter earplugs offer great protection. They mould very comfortably in the ear canal and offer a high level of protection at a low cost, making them a very popular choice. For fun, some of the gals in the shooting party might enjoy a pair of Audrey Hepburn style earplugs. These blue tassel earplugs are quite the fashion statement!

Safety during shooting is obviously a very important factor. Make sure you cover all areas of safety and protect your ears so you can continue to enjoy the sounds of nature for many hunting seasons ahead!