National Protect Your Hearing Month

This October, EarPeace is celebrating National Protect Your Hearing Month. It's a time to raise awareness about noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and how to protect your hearing health. NIHL is an irreversible, progressive hearing disorder that affects your ability to hear and is a result of prolonged exposure to loud noises. For instance, if you work in an environment that has loud noises like machinery or music for long periods of time and aren't wearing ear protection, your ears are at risk! That's why we want to make sure everyone knows how they can protect themselves and their loved ones so they don't have regrets later on down the line.

The truth is that even though 1.8 billion people around the world are affected by hearing loss, many are still not aware of just how loud their environment is or they simply don't know what to look out for. By the time they notice hearing loss, it’s too late. When most people think about hearing protection, they think of standing in front of the speakers while their favorite band plays live. What they don't think about are the simple, everyday noises that put our hearing at risk. Things like hair dryers, lawn mowers, power tools, headphones, etc., can all reach decibels that damage your hearing over an extended period of time. When you're home watching a movie, playing music, or even on a Zoom call for work-- turn the volume down! The sounds from your speakers can reach up to 100 dB which is very loud. Studies have shown that people who are exposed to these loud noises for extended periods of time are more likely to suffer from NIHL.

In honor of National Protect Your Hearing Month this October, EarPeace is focusing on creating and sharing resources that will help you understand the sounds and situations that are putting you at risk and how to keep yourself safe without missing out on any of the louder experiences life has to offer. The EarPeace team wants to make sure you have everything you need to choose what type of hearing protection works best for your lifestyle, and feel empowered and inspired to make sure those around you are wearing hearing protection as well!

So what can you do? First, don't ignore any ringing in your ears. Ringing is a sign that there's some hearing damage going on, like tinnitus, and if it doesn't go away within about 48 hours of exposure then visit an audiologist or doctor to get it checked out. Second, make sure the people around you are wearing ear protection when they're doing something loud like mowing lawns, attending football games, rock concerts etc. Lastly, be part of the conversation! We want everyone to help us raise awareness this October by using #ProtectYourPeace on social media so we can reach as many people as possible with our message.

We hope everyone has a great October and don't forget -- it's LOUD out there! Get your music earplugs and stay protected and enjoy every minute.