Summer Hearing Protection: Protect Your Ears

Hearing protection during the summer

For many people, summer is the best season of the year. The sun is shining and there is always something fun to do. During these carefree holiday days, it is extra important to protect your hearing. After all, you spend more time outdoors and end up in noisy environments more easily.

At festivals and concerts, the decibel meter shoots well into the red. The music is often dangerously loud at garden parties and in summer bars too. It is important to protect your hearing whenever you listen to music.

But there are also plenty of other situations and summer activities where it pays to be careful with your ears. Think of riding a motorcycle, city trips in bustling metropolises, or swimming in rivers, lakes and seas.

In this article, you will learn which summer activities make hearing protection especially important. You will also discover which earplugs are best to use for each of them.

Hearing protection for festivals and music

Summer is the ultimate festival season. Festivals, concerts and live shows give you unforgettable moments. Just make sure you experience these music events safely, because the music at festivals is dangerously loud.

Festivals quickly flirt with the 100 dB mark. At this volume, you immediately risk permanent hearing damage. In fact, there is already a risk of hearing damage from 85 dB onwards. The best hearing protection for events like these is festival earplugs.

What is more, at music events your ears are exposed to sound for long stretches of time. Time flies when your favourite artists are on stage. Festivalgoers tend to think they can sense for themselves when sound is becoming harmful. But that is a false sense of security. By the time your ears hurt and start ringing, it is often already too late.

Others believe there is only a risk of hearing damage with pounding techno beats or screaming metal guitars. That is not true. Any music genre can be harmful above a certain sound level. That is why it is important to always protect your hearing at every music event. In a small venue, the sound level can be just as harmful as on a huge festival ground.

Exposure to music that is too loud is one of the main causes of hearing loss and conditions such as tinnitus and hyperacusis. On top of that, hearing damage is irreversible. So protect your hearing with the right earplugs during festivals.

A common argument against earplugs is that hearing protection takes away from the music experience. That is not exactly a well-founded opinion. After all, festival earplugs are designed precisely for a better sound experience.

Custom-made music earplugs have a special filter so that you still perceive all the nuances of the music clearly, but at a safe sound level. These earplugs are also great for understanding each other better in a noisy festival environment.

Even with the right earplugs, it is best to give your ears a rest now and then. So when you are at a festival, make sure to take regular breaks in between enjoying the music.

Hearing protection while riding a motorcycle

Motorcycles make plenty of noise and easily reach sound levels of 95 decibels at 100 km/h. That kind of powerful exhaust noise is comparable to a passing train or a jackhammer.

Loud exhausts and wind noise can cause permanent hearing damage. With the right earplugs, you protect your hearing while riding a motorcycle. Custom-made earplugs protect your hearing against harmful engine noise and wind buffeting.

Custom motorcycle earplugs offer optimal wearing comfort. They are designed for prolonged use and suitable for wearing under a tight-fitting helmet.

Hearing protection while swimming

When you think of hearing damage, loud music and noisy environments usually come to mind first. Fortunately, you can protect yourself against harmful sound in any situation with the right earplugs.

Even so, your ears can be harmed in other ways too. You may not realise it, but swimming is one of the leading causes of annoying hearing problems.

While swimming, water can stay behind in your ear canal. Usually this is harmless and it simply trickles out of your ear on its own. But sometimes this trapped moisture leads to an infection. Swimmer’s ear is the name for an inflammation of the skin of your ear canal. Among other things, this inflammation causes earache, itching, scabs and hearing loss.

Swimmer’s ear is caused by bacteria in dirty water. In summer, you are quicker to dive into a river, a stream, the sea or a poorly maintained holiday pool. Want to avoid swimmer’s ear? Then always take a shower afterwards and dry your ears thoroughly.

When taking a dip in water of questionable quality, it is better to play it safe right away. Do not swim in dirty water, or wear custom swimming earplugs so you avoid swimmer’s ear.

Also try to avoid poking around in your ear canal when you suspect there is sand or water in it. Cleaning your ear canal and removing earwax is a job for your GP or another kind of specialist.

Hearing protection for city trips

Rome, Paris or Prague: summer is the perfect time to plan a fun city trip. Sadly, busy cities are not known for their peace and quiet.

On the way to your destination, your ears take quite a beating too. Think of noisy terminals and planes taking off, racing trains, and packed trams and metros.

When you are travelling, what you really want is to relax. Are you quickly bothered by urban noise and loud traffic? Then add hearing protection against overstimulation to your checklist. Earplugs are also a must on your packing list when you head into nature or go camping. You never know what annoying nighttime noise or snoring travel companion might otherwise keep you awake at night.

Hearing protection for nights out

In summer, you are quicker to head out for an evening on the town. The music in summer bars and city beaches creates a great atmosphere. And sometimes, unfortunately, an annoying ringing in your ears the next morning too. In noisy venues, it is not always easy to understand each other either. Earplugs for nights out dampen the harmful sounds of going out and make sure you can still understand the people you are talking to.