We tend to categorize hearing protection as earmuffs or earplugs that we wear to rock concerts or at construction sites. While earmuffs are an important part of hearing protection for people regularly exposed to extremely loud noise, they aren’t the only way you can protect your hearing. In fact, there may be a few daily habits that put your hearing at risk. Let’s look at three daily habits that could be damaging your hearing and how you can care for this vital sense moving forward.
1. Listening To Loud Music
Whether you’re blasting the radio on your way to work or cranking up the volume on your lunch break during a run around Union Pond Park, going past the threshold of safe listening (85 decibels)[1] can cause hearing loss faster than you think.
You can greatly reduce your risk of noise-related hearing loss by simply turning down the volume. If you’re listening to music on your cellphone, set a decibel limit of no more than 80 using the “headphone safety” feature in the phone’s settings. If you’re listening in your car, don’t turn the radio past the halfway point; if you feel any pain or muffled hearing, it’s too loud.
2. Cleaning Your Ears With Cotton Swabs
Although many have heard that it’s unsafe to use cotton swabs to clean your ears, a significant number of people still do it. A cotton swab can push wax deeper into the ear canal and potentially rupture the eardrum. While permanent damage from a ruptured eardrum is rare, severe damage can potentially impact your hearing.[2]
If you feel like you have an earwax blockage, call us for a safe ear exam and wax removal.
3. Using Loud Appliances or Tools
If you work with power tools or are mowing the lawn, wear earmuffs or earplugs.
While other loud appliances, like your blender or coffee grinder, create loud noise, short exposure to the noise isn’t likely to harm your hearing. However, do yourself and your ears a favor by stepping away from loud appliances while they are in use.
If you notice signs of hearing loss, such as muffled speech or ringing in the ears, call us at Sound Advice Audiology for a hearing test.
[1] National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (n.d.). Noise-induced hearing loss. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss
[2] The Cleveland Clinic. (2025). Ruptured eardrum (perforated eardrum): Symptoms & treatment. Cleveland Clinic. http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15581-ruptured-eardrum-acutely-perforated-tympanic-membrane