Why earplugs?

Hearing protection

We are increasingly suffering hearing damage worldwide due to (too) loud noise. Especially among young people, noise-induced hearing loss is on the rise. This hearing damage manifests itself in several ways, for example by a continuous beep, buzz or hum in your ears. For over 2 million Dutch this is the daily situation.

Noise above 80 dB can already be harmful if you spend more than 8 hours in it. That’s the sound of a busy road or a lively classroom. With every 3 dB increase in sound, the time you can spend in it halves without the risk of hearing damage. A concert quickly sits around 103 dB. That means that without hearing protection, you have a chance of permanent hearing damage after only a few minutes!

“Can’t it just be softer?”

A legitimate question. Ideally we would turn the volume down quite a bit. But people come to a concert/festival for the experience. Music should be felt,” you often hear. This applies to the people at the front as well as those further back. It is not so easy to adjust the volume so that everyone has the same experience.

However, there has been a hearing covenant since 2014, which allows a noise level of up to 103 dB at concerts and events. That level can damage your hearing in less than 5 minutes if you don’t wear earplugs.

How does hearing damage occur?

When your ears are exposed to (too) loud noise, the cilia in your inner ear can become damaged. Damaged cilia transmit wrong signals to the brain and then you hear a beep or hum! As more and more cilia break down, not enough remain to transmit sounds and you slowly become hard of hearing. Hearing damage caused by (too) loud noise is irreversible, but fortunately quite easy to prevent by wearing hearing protection.

The video to the right shows how hearing damage occurs.