tips to save your ears when working out

Exercising is a great way to boost your energy and get in shape, and it can be even more rewarding when you're listening to music.

Whether you're working out in a gym, spinning on a bike or running outside, you can supercharge your workout by listening to your favorite songs. However, there are some dangers to using earbuds specifically designed for working out. (Remember that guy who got hit in the head with a kettle bell and died?)

If you value your hearing, it's time to switch to a safer way of listening to music while working out.

Earplugs for Working Out

The sensation you get when you quit a community workout class is mostly positive. Sure, you're drained, but you can sense endorphins coursing through your brain and discomfort settling into your muscles. Nevertheless, many people experience ringing in their ears when leaving cycling and other community exercise lessons.

Community workout lessons featuring noisy, up-tempo tunes are good at inspiring and energizing members. Even so, it often turns up to such a high level it is irritating to the ears and can inflict irreversible hearing loss. When your ears ring, it is a sign that you might be heading for permanent hearing loss.

Studies have shown that fitness classes play music as loud as 99 decibels, which can cause permanent hearing damage in around 15 minutes!

What Are the Perfect Ear Plugs for Gym Workouts?

Physical exercise can be challenging. Even if you arrive centered, chattering strangers and obnoxious background music will easily challenge your composure. Thankfully, earplugs are an excellent way to get some relaxation and quiet when working exercise. There are several special earplugs for exercise classes if you want to protect your hearing protection and feel safe through your workout that:

• Lower the music volume to a safer and more comfortable level while still allowing you to hear the music and your instructor.
  
  
• These include three sizes of soft, interchangeable ear tips in each package, ensuring a secure fit for any ear size
  
  
• They have a clear design that renders them almost unnoticeable, enabling you to wear ear protection in public while being discreet.

Consider the following earplug types for working out.

Industrial Reusable Ear Plugs

You will find the most economical choices in the industrial reusable earplugs category since they make these to be used by large numbers of workers in large facilities. They have a long lifespan and cost less than a dollar per pair. You can't purchase them in sizes less than a package of 100 pairs, so pick up a couple or two to check out. Many consumer brands of reusable earplugs are available, but they are far more expensive than the industrial variety.

Use Foam Ear Plugs

Many gyms and studios have disposable foam earplugs for those in group exercise classes. Still, there are several issues with foam earplugs that make them less than ideal for fitness classes. Foam earplugs are better noise-canceling than industrial plugs, but they get saturated with sweat during workouts. They can be used only once or twice until they become more costly than recycled, water-resistant ones. 

Reusable earplugs may be washed and safely reused for months, making your workouts more peaceful for a long time. Earplugs are made of foam blocks and modulate the sound in your surroundings to where you can't hear the sounds or your instructor. They are one-size-fits-all, but not everyone has the same-sized ears, making them very uncomfortable for many people. They are bright, bulky, and they embarrass many people when worn in public.

Isolation Earphones

Isolation earphones, for whoever has never used them, use relatively small little speakers called drivers to transmit music straight through the ears, while the earplug style earpieces fill the ears, blocking out external sound. Some isolation earphones used for working out offer wired and Bluetooth versions. These earphones can change the workout experience, and the prices are reasonable, varying from about $30 to $90, depending on the style. They have effective sound isolation and blocking. Their sound quality is adequate, but if you like elevated sound, you'll have to pay extra.

Regular Ear Plugs

This is a passive alternative: plain old earplugs with no batteries or frills, just noise shielding. Using isolation earphones to listen to background noise would always provide you with the nearest thing to "silence." But while earplugs might not give you perfect quiet, they can certainly reduce the ambient noise, and they are also cheap compared to isolation earphones!

Musician's Ear Plugs

Musicians' earplugs may be a suitable solution for some people who love working out; these earplugs do not block noise so much as they turn down the volume. These are an excellent choice to try if you enjoy taking the edge off of the ambient music.

But What If You Want Silence?

You're not alone. Many people want it to be in a quiet environment. One earplug user identified her desired outcome as "artificial deafness." Regrettably, even with the finest earplugs, this is practically impossible to accomplish. The more sound you block, the closer your hearing becomes, so the most you can expect is that it reduces the sounds you hear to a whisper. Now, for most people, that is sufficient-even desirable, because if an alarm goes off, you still want to listen to it!

But maybe you are not most people. Perhaps you don't want to listen to anything yet still want to eliminate the gym's annoying music. The positive thing is that you can do this by wearing isolation earphones and listening to a filtering sound or background noise in your earphones. The filtering sound can drown the obnoxious music and chatter out. Within a few minutes, the subconscious will tune out the background noise, leaving you in blissful silence. 

Whether you're searching for earplugs for gym classes or other exercise classes, choose ones that can cover the ears and keep them relaxed without interfering with the energizing exercising experience. The goal of joining community exercise classes is to remain well, and you shouldn't have to risk your hearing protection to get an excellent workout. If you wear the right hearing protection in fitness classes, it doesn't have to ruin your experience.