Why You Should Wear Ear Protection?

Click on the image to find out moreSince noise began we have been doing our utmost to preserve our hearing and protect our ears from any harm. The advice given concerning the levels of safe sound and the periods of time that we can hear certain sounds without causing damage can be contradictory and in some cases leave people slightly confused. However, with a little help from us at All Ear Plugs and our talented design team we have crafted an interactive graphic where you can grasp trustworthy information regarding what you can hear and how long you can hear it for without causing any damage to your hearing easily. With one look at Why You Should Wear Ear Protection you will find out when hearing protection in the form of ear plugs is required along with some interesting facts about hearing loss that will shock and amaze you.

Although this may sound trivial we wish to share with you the importance of preventing hearing loss and want to share this information in all shapes and forms. Only recently some of our favourite musicians have shared their stories about tinnitus (a form of hearing loss) due to listening to music when they were teenagers and are now supporting the new charity campaign, Action On Hearing Loss.

Hearing loss in any form whether it’s temporary or permanent is something we should all strive to prevent. Once your hearing is gone, it’s gone and you may have to resort to expensive hearing aids to live your life normally. This isn’t a gimmick, nor is it a sales pitch, it’s fact and something we care greatly about.

Check out Why You Should Wear Ear Protection and find out just how many potentially damaging sounds you’re exposing your hearing to.

Westlife on tour

How to make the most of the music

It was a sad day when Westlife announced their split. As soon as it was publically revealed we all began reminiscing of the days we used to line up outside music shops to buy their latest album (I believe iTunes wasn’t as popular back then) and gushing over Nicky and Shane’s pictures. However, as all artists as big as Westlife do, the band will bid their final farewell to their fans by going on tour.

We believe it might be a bit too early for the band to wave goodbye as the rival of the late 90s bands is at its peak. Steps, Atomic Kitten (rumoured), Take That and more recently S Club 7 have all reunited and we’re sure that there’s space for Westlife too. We can keep hoping, but it looks like it an indefinite certainty the band will not return.

If you’re lucky enough to have secured a ticket to one of the many tour dates you’re sure to be very excited. Expect to hear hit songs such as ‘I had a dream’, ‘Flying without wings’ and of course, our personal favourite ‘Up Town Girl’. However, more often than not, expect to hear the screams of fans, songs sung out of tune by fans and maybe a bit of crying by them too. There is a way round this you’ll be relieved to find out. Not only can you block the atrocious sounds of wannabe singers you can also make the voices you came and paid to hear a lot more audible.

“How?” I can hear you ask. By simply inserting some musician ear plugs.

But doesn’t that block sounds?

Musician ear plugs are designed specifically to be worn at musical events, blocking out harmful and damaging sounds, but allow you to listen to the sounds you came to hear. Without background noise interfering with the sounds of the Westlife boys you will be able to hear each lyric clearly.

If this is music to your ears then you’re going to love the range of musician ear plugs we have at All Ear Plugs. Here are just a few we recommend to Westlife fans:

•    Proguard Noizezz Universal Earplugs SNR 24 dB
•    Alpine MusicSafe Pro Ear Plugs
•    Mack's High Fidelity Hear Plugs Ear Plugs

Preparing for your exams

The end of the school year is looming, which can only mean one thing; tables are being lined into neat rows within the walls of a sports hall. It’s exam season.

After the Easter holiday break, you should all feel revived from the previous term and ready to hit the books. However, that can be easier said than done. Once you have finished your school/college day it can be hard to get into the mindset that you must do revision as soon as you’re home. As soon as you sit down, you want to cook your dinner, catch up on any television shows you missed and unwind. There are a lot of distractions, especially if you’re living with family or housemates and having to contend with them in order to study can be challenging.

However, blocking out the sounds is easy. With a pair of noise reduction ear plugs you will be able to reduce the level of noise you hear coming from the television, the radio and the conversations going on around the house. With this piece and quiet you’ll be able to concentrate on revising for your exams and perhaps have better success when it comes to sinking in all the information provided.

The only thing ear plugs can’t assist you with is motivation, that we’re afraid is all down to you. However, if you’re looking for a solution to blocking the racket that fills your loving home, All Ear Plugs could provide you with just that.

Noise reduction ear plugs are designed to reduce the level of damaging noises heard, yet allows sounds you need to hear, like alarms, to remain audible. These can be priceless items to have when revising for your end of year exams, here are just a few from All Ear Plugs’ dedicated range:

•    Killnoise Classic
•    Hearplugz-DF Earplugs
•    Mack's Ear Seals Ear Plugs
•    Mack's Ear Ammo Ear Plugs For Men with Aluminium Case

These ear plugs are ideal for students at any educational level, whether you are studying for a SAT exam, GCSEs, AS-Levels, A-Levels or a Degree. For younger children, All Ear Plugs hold a wonderful range of children’s ear plugs that will fit smaller ears.

Campaigning For Your Hearing

Find a fantastic range of musician ear plugs at All Ear Plugs

Why should you use ear protection?

Chris Martin, front man of the immensely popular British band Coldplay has recently revealed that tinnitus could have ended his music career. This news adds weight to the messages we at All Ear Plugs have been sending out, urging people that music when played at a loud volume can effectively be damaging your hearing.

Tinnitus is not something new to Chris either. According to recent reports the Coldplay singer has been suffering from the condition for a decade. The problem was caused by listening to loud music when he was younger and now, through his experience, he ensures his children’s hearing is always protected.

However, the multi-award winner has said that the ringing in his ear and the headaches that go along with it have stabilised since wearing ear plugs. Martin urges any young music fan or musician to protect their hearing to avoid a similar fate:  “Looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don’t think about until there’s a problem.

“I’ve had tinnitus for about ten years, and since I started protecting my ears it hasn’t got any worse – touch wood.

“But I wish I’d thought about it earlier.

“Now [the band] always use moulded filter plugs, or in-ear monitors, to try to protect our ears.

“You can use industrial headphones, but that looks strange at a party.”

It isn’t just Chris who has been dealing with the condition for some time, Benjamin Drew aka Plan B and Gary Numan are also experiencing hearing difficulties. Reportedly Plan B mistook the ringing noise in his ears for passing trains saying: “At first I thought it was trains rushing by as I live near a railway line. It's caused by years of being subjected to loud music.

"If you're listening to music a lot, producing music or performing live, then always wear earplugs, you're not Superman!

"When I first developed it, I thought it was trains rushing by my house as I live near a railway line - it was really loud and an extremely high-pitched ringing in my ears.

Alpine MusicSafe Pro Musician ear plugs"There's no doubt it's been caused by years of being on stage and subjected to very loud decibels of music."

Whilst Gary Numan regrets not having looked after his hearing: “I didn't look after my ears and I'm in trouble.

"It's getting serious, to the point that I can't mix my music properly anymore, so it's majorly impacted on my career.

"If I'd just looked after them when I was younger then this would never have happened, so I very much regret it.

"I would often be at gigs, standing at the front next to the speakers, not wearing earplugs, thinking I'm cool and being manly, but that's just rubbish, it's stupid.

"So look after your hearing and wear earplugs."

All three artists are backing a new charity campaign called Action On Hearing Loss which, like Don’t Lose The Music, aims to encourage concert goers to wear hearing protection every time they visit their favourite musicians live.

Noise at Work

Stay safe at workWe need to hear noises to do our jobs effectively, take on board instructions and hear alarms. Health and Safety plays a significant role when it comes to carrying out work and covers hearing protection when noises exceed 80dB (the considered safe level of noise).

What happens if noises exceed 80dB?

If noise at work exceeds the considered safe level of sound you could be putting your employees’ hearing at risk, which is why hearing protection falls under the Health and Safety Act.

•    Short term exposure – results in temporary mild deafness
•    Long term exposure – results in damage to the ear hair cells and can cause permanent hearing loss
•    Intense Impulse noise – resulting in the potential damage of ear bones and rapture of ear drum

Noise induced hearing loss

When regularly exposed to loud noises you can experience hearing loss, permanent and temporary. Damaging noises will affect your hearing and you will experience the similar level of loss in both ears. If you continue to subject your hearing to damaging sounds, hearing loss will progressively get worse.  You may not be experiencing any symptoms of hearing loss at the moment, but it can catch up with you.

Tinnitus

This is another kind of noise induced hearing loss, but instead of experiencing a level of deafness you will normally hear a ringing in your ears. It can occur suddenly or gradually and for some temporary, but if you continue to expose yourself and employees to loud noises the damage can be irreversible.

The law on noise

When creating a working environment that complies with Health and Safety regulations you must take specific precautions at certain action values (values can be seen below)

•    Levels of exposure to loud noises over the average working day or week
•    The maximum level of noise employees are exposed to

Action values

•    Lower exposure action value – daily or weekly exposure of 80dB and peak sound pressure of 135dB

ACTION: Hearing protection available upon request

•    Upper exposure action value - daily or weekly exposure of 85dB and peak sound pressure of 137dB

ACTION: Hearing protection is mandatory

•    Exposure limit action value - daily or weekly exposure of 87dB and peak sound pressure of 140dB

ACTION: This level of noise should never be exceeded when wearing hearing protection

Risk assessment

The risk assessment has to be based on evidence, such as the noise measurements in the premise, recorded and kept up to date. When it comes to carrying out a risk assessment, there are exposure limit values; these limit values are a daily or weekly average exposure of 87dB and a peak sound pressure of 140dB.

Hearing protection

All Ear Plugs’ range of Food Industry ear plugs is not only suitable for those in the catering and hospitality sector, but are perfect for anyone who wishes to protect their hearing when working in a noisy environment.

Moldex Spark Plug Corded Detect Pack of 200 pairs

Moldex Spark Plug Detectable 250 Pair Station (Wall Mount Not Included)

Moldex Wall Mount for Moldex Stations (Ear Plugs Not Included)