Hearing protection is an often overlooked necessity at the workplace. Roughly 3.6 million Australians have some level of hearing loss, with over a third of that being preventable. Additionally more than 1 in 3 people in Australia have noise-related ear damage. Hearing protection can help save you from damaging your ears and a lifetime of hearing loss.

Avoiding hearing loss: By wearing earplugs or other hearing protection, you significantly reduce your risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). These devices help shield your delicate inner ear hair cells from the harmful effects of loud noise. These hair cells convert sound waves into signals for your brain, and when damaged can impair your ability to hear.

‍Preventing tinnitus: Hearing loss often goes hand in hand with tinnitus, which is a ringing sound in your ears. People experience tinnitus differently, which could be affected as a large variety of sounds such as humming, buzzing, clicking, whooshing, roaring or static. This is the result of damage to your ear’s hair cells, and can be permanent and very frustrating to live with. Hearing protection can prevent your ear’s hair cells from being damaged, which in return would prevent tinnitus.

Maintaining balance: Most people aren’t aware that your inner ear helps your sense of balance. This means that hearing loss will cause you to bump into things and fall over. Since earplugs and other hearing protection devices will protect your ears, they will also help you save your sense of balance.

‍Improving safety: High quality hearing protection will help block out noises that will distract you from your surroundings. For example, custom earplugs will lower the sound of a motorcycle engine and wind noise, which helps improve your safety cues such as warning alarms, horns and sirens.

Disposable earplugs: The most common solution, disposable earplugs are often made from soft foam and are a popular choice due to their low price tag and ease to find. Since they’re made from soft materials such as foam, they can be moulded to fit most ear sizes. If you don’t require hearing protection often then it is a perfectly fine choice, but if you are dealing with dangerously loud sounds or need to use them regularly, then we recommend finding a different solution. The cost of constantly buying new pairs of disposable earplugs quickly adds up, they don’t provide the highest quality of hearing protection and they can accumulate bacteria.‍

Custom hearing protection: Every ear shape is different, which is why custom earplugs are so effective. They are tailor made to fit the unique shape of your ear, which ensures that dangerous noise won’t damage your inner ear. You can find custom earplugs for most scenarios, such as swimming earplugs to prevent water from entering your ears, or shooting earplugs that activate on sudden high noise. This is a more premium option, but they’re reusable which means you will be able to use them for years to come, it will offer a premium level of protection, and will allow you to still hear your surroundings (and only block out the dangerous sounds).

‍Earmuffs: A common choice for construction workers and hunters, earmuffs completely cover your outer ear with cushions that block out all noise. These can be worn over the top of earplugs for extra protection. We recommend earmuffs if you work with incredibly loud sounds, and won’t be affected by the bulkiness and inability to hear your surroundings.

‍Canal caps: Similar to earplugs, canal caps go inside your ears but do not extend into the ear canal - they only close the ear opening. They also come with a plastic or metal band that wraps around your head or behind your neck in case they fall, which lowers the odds of losing them. While they are convenient to wear, they do not offer as much protection as earmuffs or custom earplugs. Canal caps are best used in situations where you need hearing protection, but will be constantly taking them on and off.

At ACS Custom Australia, we offer custom hearing protection for all work environments, including construction, military, music, aviation and more. Email us at info@acscustom.com.au for more information.