If you have never heard an explosion, you might be surprised to find out that they all sound quite the same and, most importantly, they can all cause irreversible hearing damage if you lack the best ear protection for explosions. Just imagine that it is a shock wave, a massive volume of energy accumulated into the air, causing a pulse that moves faster than the speed of sound.

This shock wave causes a booming sound that can, in the case of nuclear blasts, for example, literally burst the eardrum of an individual (if they survive the initial heat of the explosion, obviously!) and apply a pressure that causes lethal damage to organs such as the lungs or stomach.

Knowing this alone should be enough for you to start looking for the best ear protection for explosions available on the market

Is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Really Needed for Explosions?

Asking if you need ear protection for explosions is like asking if you need a safety helmet in construction work or if you need gloves and gauntlets when working with chemicals, biological agents, or extreme temperatures.

How Can You Protect Your Ears from an Explosion?

Since each increase of 10 dB doubles the loudness of a sound and that any sound that is 85 decibels or higher presents a high risk of damaging your hearing, explosions, which can get as loud as 200 dB and beyond, depending on the type of explosion, protecting your hearing cannot be stressed enough.

Just so that you can get an idea of how loud explosions are, nuclear explosions are considered one of the loudest phenomena on Earth and they can reach a whopping 280 dB!

Another interesting fact to keep in mind is that the loudest sound sustained by our planet’s surface is of about 194 dB, so anything close to that level of noise can obviously do irreversible damage to the human body in general, not only to the auditive system, by causing an air embolism in your lungs. This air embolism causes death by reaching the heart. It is also possible to be killed merely by the increased air pressure caused by a loud sound.

So How Can You Avoid Hearing Damage from Explosions?

How can you protect your ears from an explosion? Usually, the best ear protection for explosions is adequate for the worst-case scenario that you may encounter, which means you should choose hearing protectors with a noise attenuation capacity that will reduce even the loudest potential sound to a level that is close or below the recommended safe noise level of 85 dB.

Aim for Earplugs designed for shooting and impact, these types of ear protectors are specially designed to protect your hearing from the noise made by explosions, gunshots and even artillery shots.

An alternative to earplugs is over the ear hearing protection, such as noise-cancelling headphones, headbands or earmuffs designed in a way that protects your hearing during an explosion. For the best hearing protection during explosions, you should aim towards ear protection designed for the military, as they are manufactured to protect the inner ear from mechanical damage that may result in the permanent hearing loss while being exposed to dangerously loud sounds.

These types of ear protection equipment have the added advantage of allowing you to maintain auditory awareness so that you can avoid losing your hearing, but still be able to hear regular sounds and have conversations with those in close proximity. Last generation technology used in hearing protection earplugs and earmuffs can adjust the volume as it gets louder. What they do is practically lower the volume perceived by the individual gradually as the outside sound gets louder and louder.

Should you cover your ears in an explosion or should you open your mouth during an explosion?

These are frequently asked questions related to protecting yourself while in the proximity of an explosion. The reason why this is believed to be necessary is that explosions cause shockwaves, and the pressure of that shockwave on your body and especially on your auditory system can cause permanent damage.

Opening your mouth during an explosion can, in fact, save your life and your hearing, since what this does is that it equalises the pressure created by the shockwave inside your body to protect the eardrums and minimize the damage. What many people do not know is that it also helps if you cover or plug the ear that is closest to the explosion and leave the other one uncovered while opening your mouth.

Covering your ears during an explosion is, unfortunately, a tricky subject. Its efficiency depends on how close you are to the explosion and what you use in order to protect your ears. If you just cover the ears with your hands while being in close proximity of an explosion, it won’t help much.

What Level of Hearing Protection do You Need for Explosions?

Since explosions count as a very dangerous noise level, it is important to understand the noise reduction rating or the amount of noise that a product is able to cancel out, of the hearing protection equipment needed in such conditions. The higher the NRR, the safer your ears are during an explosion.

What is The Best NRR for an Ear Plug or an Earmuff for Explosions?

The highest DB reducing rating for earplugs is around 33 decibels, and since each increase of 10 dB doubles the loudness of a sound, you should evaluate how loud the sound you are going to be exposed to is and figure out if you may need double protection, which means that you should add a pair of earmuffs on top of the high NRR earplugs. The highest NRR for earmuffs is around 31.

Noise Attenuation of Hearing Protectors Against Heavy Weapon and Explosion Noise

Usually, when exposed to the noise of explosions, bazookas, cannons or other types of heavy weapon, your hearing needs some sort of protection, and choosing which one is best for such dangerous sounds can be difficult. We provide some estimate values of the noise attenuation usually offered by the two types of hearing protectors available so that you can choose one suitable for your situation.

Studies show that earplugs usually offer an attenuation of 16 to 23 dB, while earmuffs provide a noise reduction of 10 to 20 dB. If you combine earmuffs and earplugs, you get double hearing protection with a sound attenuation of 24 to 34 dB.

Please Note: Just because an ear defender is marked, for example, "Gunshot" - it will still cover other things, like "explosions"