Protecting one’s hearing in the past was always quite a significant undertaking. You had to go against the cultural grain, which was grating for a lot of people.
But today, looking after the ears is far simpler than it ever was before. The whole of society is making it easier and there are also lots of things you can do on a personal level as well.
In this post, we take a look at why it’s easier than ever to protect your hearing. Here’s everything you need to know:
Everyone Agrees On Volume Limiters
Whether you’re listening to music on your phone or on a Windows computer, most tech companies today agree on volume limiters. You can’t crank the decibels up like you once could on analog stereo systems. That ability no longer exists.
Volume limiters are actually in place by law in a lot of locations, meaning manufacturers have to follow the rules. If they don’t, they could get into trouble and face fines.
What’s more, you actively have to find ways to turn off volume limiters if you want to blow your ears off. And that actually requires quite a bit of technical knowledge. Plus, there are in-built hardware limits, so even if you do manage to get around the software rules, you’re still constrained with how high the volume can go.
Tinnitus Apps Help
At the same time, there have been significant developments in the realm of tinnitus apps. These make it much easier for people like you to manage tinnitus and prevent it from becoming a condition that takes over their lives.
Tinnitus, or the persistent ringing some people get in their ears can be life-changing. For many patients, it causes distress and makes it more challenging to sleep at night (because of the annoying and persistent noise).
However, modern tinnitus apps are a real solution. These adjust to the type of tinnitus you have, allowing you to tune them to reduce the hallucinated sounds you’re hearing by the maximum amount.
For many people simple tinnitus apps reduce perceived loudness by around 50%. For some, it can be even more. And a few people go into remission because of the addition of external noise. It can occasionally rewire the auditory parts of the brain to get them to pick up on noise better.
Hearing Protection Is Now Cool
Another change is that hearing protection is now cool. Many people see it as the sensible and responsible thing to do, which wasn’t the case even twenty years ago.
Many people now wear stylish filtered earplugs and muffs. These provide clinical-level hearing protection while looking cool at the same time.
You often see people wearing these accessories at concerts or loud bars. They reduce noise levels by 20% or more, protecting the ears from noise spikes and reducing the risk of sensorineural hearing loss.
OTC Earwax Drops Now Work
Today, it’s also easier than ever to protect your hearing because of the quality of OTC earwax drops. These now work far more effectively than ever before due to newer, safer formulations.
The old days of having to use a syringe and risk blowing your eardrum are gone. Today, many of the electric irrigators are far more effective and save money on trips to the doctor like nothing else.
Hearing Apps
Another development has been the emergence of hearing apps that can test hearing in a little under five minutes. These are like having an audiologist by your side 24/7 so you can constantly check the state of your hearing and what you need to do to improve it.
If you think you have a problem, you can then book an appointment at the real audiology clinic. This way, you can get a proper characterization of your hearing and ensure that everything is as it should be. Just be aware that audiologists understand the relationship between environmental noise and hearing tests. That’s why they sit you in an isolated room. Even the smallest of sounds can throw the test off and give you a dud result.
Noise-Canceling Tech Improved Considerably
Noise-canceling tech improved significantly over recent years, cutting the need to turn up the volume on earbuds in loud environments. Sensors on a lot of these systems improved markedly, allowing wearers to essentially get a quiet room experience, even when surrounded by high-volume and intrusive music.
The downside, of course, is that noise-cancelling technology is more expensive. Computers onboard listening accessories must calculate the shape of incoming soundwaves and then emit neutralising waves to cancel them out.
Custom-Fit Earplugs Are Now Available
If you go online, you’ll also discover that it’s now easier than ever to get custom-fit earplugs. These are specially made to fit the shape of your ear cana;.
These are already available from a lot of vendors, including ACS Custom and others. These stay locked in your ears, are the right shape to block out sound, and reduce the ability of anything else to get inside.
Ear Cleaning Is Now Safe
Another big perk and one of the reasons why it is easier than ever to keep your ears healthy is that ear cleaning is now safe. Thanks to the development of microtechnology, it’s now possible to put cameras on a stick and see what’s happening inside the ear canal. What’s more, many of these pieces of medical-grade equipment are now available to buy as a regular patient. That means you can figure out if you have an issue pretty quickly, and you don’t need to worry so much about complex diagnoses or whether to go ahead with treatment.
Affordable Hearing Aids
Lastly, hearing aids are becoming more affordable with time. Manufacturers are taking advantage of lower costs across the supply chain to deliver superior products to patients.
This is exciting because hearing aids used to be expensive. Many cost more than $2,000. However, it’s now possible to find models below $500 and sometimes for even less when hearing loss isn’t as severe a problem.
The owners of Cinnamon Hollow and many of its authors are not doctors and this is in no way intended to be used as medical advice. We cannot be held responsible for your results. As with any product, service or supplement, use at your own risk. Always do your own research and consult with your personal physician before using.
Daniel is a Cinnamon Hollow author passionate about house and home, renovations, homesteading and DIY.
