How to Protect Your Hearing

Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the few kinds of hearing loss that is almost entirely preventable. The damage builds quietly over years, so it rarely feels urgent — until the day you realise conversations have become hard work. The good news: protecting your hearing costs little and takes only a few new habits.

How loud is too loud?

Sound damage depends on two things together: how loud a sound is, and how long you're exposed to it. As a rough guide, sustained sound above 85 decibels (dB) can harm hearing over time — and the louder it gets, the faster the harm accumulates.

• A normal conversation sits around 60 dB — perfectly safe.
• City traffic is roughly 80–85 dB — the edge of caution.
• A rock concert or power tool can hit 100–110 dB, where damage can begin in minutes.

A useful rule of thumb: if you have to raise your voice to be heard by someone an arm's length away, the background noise is probably loud enough to matter.

The 60/60 rule for headphones

Personal listening devices are the modern hazard, because we use them for hours and turn them up to drown out background noise. A simple, evidence-aligned habit is the 60/60 rule:

• Keep the volume at or below 60 percent of maximum.
• Take a break after 60 minutes of continuous listening.

Two upgrades make this easier to stick to. First, noise-cancelling or well-sealing headphones let you hear clearly at lower volumes, because you're not fighting ambient noise. Second, many phones now show a headphone loudness readout in their health settings — check it occasionally to see what your real listening levels look like.

Types of hearing protection

When you can't control the noise at its source, put a barrier between it and your ears. The main options:

Foam earplugs

Cheap, disposable, and surprisingly effective when inserted correctly. Roll the plug thin, insert it deep into the canal, and hold it while it expands. Most people don't push them in far enough, which halves their benefit.

Earmuffs

Over-the-ear cups that are easy to put on and off — ideal for intermittent loud tasks like mowing the lawn or using a drill. They can be worn over earplugs for very loud environments.

Custom and musician's plugs

Moulded to your ear and fitted with filters that lower the volume evenly across frequencies, so music and speech still sound natural. They cost more but are worth it for musicians, bartenders, and anyone in regular loud-but-social settings.

Whatever you choose, the best hearing protection is the one you'll actually wear. Keep a pair in your bag, your car, and your toolbox.

Tinnitus and other warning signs

Your ears will often tell you when they've had too much. Pay attention to these signals after loud exposure:

• Ringing, buzzing, or hissing (tinnitus), even if it fades after a few hours.
• A feeling of fullness or muffled hearing, as though your ears are "stuffed".
• Needing to turn the TV louder than other people in the room.
• Trouble following conversation in noisy places like restaurants.

A short bout of ringing after a concert is your inner ear waving a flag. If ringing becomes constant, only affects one ear, or arrives with dizziness or sudden hearing loss, see a clinician — those features need proper assessment.

Build the habit early

Hearing you protect in your twenties and thirties is hearing you keep in your sixties. Treat loud sound the way you treat strong sun: a normal part of life that's easy to enjoy safely once protection becomes automatic.

Curious where your hearing stands today? Our free pure-tone hearing test gives you a quick baseline, and reading how to interpret your audiogram will help you make sense of the result.