How important is your hearing or that of your loved ones? Surprisingly (or perhaps not) more than 40% of music lovers (those that listen to iPods or attend concerts/venues frequently) do not feel they have the time or money to bother with hearing protection.

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