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Earplugs Are Trendy! (Why? Save Your Hearing and Banish Tinnitus)


loud rock concert: earplugs save hearing and tinnitus concept

Maybe it's Taylor Swift, or maybe it's just that Gen Zs are growing up more educated than the rest of us, but ear plugs are all over TikTok as fashionable (healthy) accessories. 

The hashtag leading the pack is simply #earplugs with more than 292 million views, but the lonely #earplug has 51 million and even the polite #earplugsplease has 43 thousand views.

More concert-goers than ever seem to be using hearing protection, and that's a smart move: The only preventable hearing loss is that due to noise. And a major side effect to very loud noise exposure is tinnitus.

Other than reducing noise exposure, there's no way to control other factors that cause hearing loss (aging, genetics, infection or illnesses). Once you've damaged the hair cells in your inner ears, that's it.

Cheap foam earplugs are just as effective as expensive ones, but those designed for music filter out bass and high frequency better. In other words, the sound quality you'll hear wearing cheap foam earplugs won't be as good as concert earplugs -- but you'll still save your hearing and won't get tinnitus.

Anything louder than 80 decibels can cause hearing loss and tinnitus. According to DecibelPro, makers of a sound meter app, the average rock concerts (even those held outside) are very loud: between 90 and 120 decibels (dB). More than a "14-minute exposure to decibel levels above 100 dB can cause hearing damage," writes the DecibelPro team. "A rock concert decibel level is between 90 and 120 dB. Therefore, the answer is yes. Rock concert decibels can damage your hearing."

They add that a "2-hour exposure to decibel levels above 90 dB can lead to hearing damage. In the same way, an over 2-minute exposure to decibel levels above 110 dB can lead to hearing damage/loss."

If you download a sound level meter app (most are free) on your phone, you'll be able to quickly check if your hearing is in danger.

According to a research paper from Creighton University, "properly fitted earplugs or muffs reduce noise 15 to 30 dB. The better earplugs and muffs are approximately equal in sound reduction, although earplugs are better for low frequency noise and earmuffs for high frequency noise. Simultaneous use of earplugs and muffs usually adds 10 to 15 dB more protection than either used alone. Combined
use should be considered when noise exceeds 105 dB.


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