Investing in Your Ears: Strategies for Hearing Wellness

So What Causes Hearing Loss?

Numerous activities such as exposure to airplane noise, working with power tools, attending music concerts and motorsports events, and even listening to music on your headphones can cause that. 

The damage begins when your ears are exposed to sounds above 70 decibels for prolonged periods. To put this in perspective, normal conversations occur at about 60 decibels. You might wonder how just 10 decibels can make such a huge difference. Well, decibels don't work in a linear fashion—70 decibels is about twice as loud as 60 decibels.

The scale of this issue is significant. Around 48 million Americans report having a hearing problem in at least one ear, and noise-induced hearing loss affects about 26 million US adults under the age of 70.

Even short-term exposure can cause damage. It can also lead to tinnitus, a form of hearing loss that results in a ringing or whistling sound coming from within your ear, typically due to exposure to loud environments.

A simple preventive measure you can take is wearing ear protection such as earplugs in these noisy environments.

Why Should You Use Earplugs?

Earplugs are a simple yet effective tool for protecting your hearing in noisy environments. They're not just for concerts and construction sites—you should consider using them in unexpected places like cinemas, busy classrooms, or even on public transit.

Environments with consistent noise levels over 70-80dB can cause long-term hearing damage. Earplugs help prevent this damage and offer additional health benefits. They can reduce stress and increase calm in loud, busy places. Think of earplugs as an affordable way to enjoy life's louder moments without risking your health.

Earplugs provide more than just hearing protection. The World Health Organization reports that noise exposure can lead to stress and cardiovascular issues. Moreover, excessive noise in childhood may negatively impact cognitive and academic performance.

But most of the single-use earplugs are made of plastic and have environmental problems and health risks associated with them.

Read Also: The Hidden Dangers of Single-Use Plastic Earplugs

Our compostable earplugs, the DFC 001®, pack a punch! They can reduce noise by 15-20dB, putting us right up there with the big players in the market. And guess what? We're way more sustainable than they are! But here's the cool part - our earplugs don't just target high frequencies. They bring down all frequencies equally, giving you a balanced sound experience. We've designed them to mold to your unique ear shape, so you can wear them comfortably for hours on end. Whether it's all day or all night, you can pop these in and forget about them. How's that for worry-free hearing protection?