Road noise can be very annoying, especially when you are exposed to it all day. It is unlikely, however, that this form of noise pollution will cause you lasting hearing damage. You may still want to block some of this annoying noise from your working day, or possibly while you sleep.

Which is what this article will help you with!

Myths about hearing - Reduce Traffic Noise

When it comes to hearing, it's not just about volume. The quality of sound is important too.

Myth 1: Hearing loss is inevitable with age

The truth is that only a small percentage of people need to use hearing aids or other devices for their hearing throughout the course of their lives. There are some medical conditions which can impair your ability to hear, but these are uncommon and should be thoroughly investigated by a doctor.

Myths 2 - Build Up A Resistance

Even with traffic noise, you cannot build up a resistance . The ear is incredibly sensitive and will be damaged by ongoing exposure to loud noise, no matter how long this exposure is. If you work in an office, and would like to protect yourself from noise pollution, you can do so by wearing ear plugs. Ear plugs are a simple and effective way to protect your hearing.

Drawbacks of ear plugs: they can be uncomfortable around the ear or cause damage to the ear drum. They only reduce noise levels somewhat as they do not completely block out all noises. A better option is a hearing protector - usually an intercom or mask - that blocks out all external sounds and can be worn during times when loud music and people talking loudly are not desired.

Myths 3 - Noise Can Hurt Me Unless Its Loud

If you are exposed to loud noises, even those that are low in volume, your ear can be damaged. If hearing loss is already in progress, the damage you cause will accelerate and could cause further damage to your ability to hear.

Myths 4 - My Hearing Will Come Back If I Avoid Noise

The truth is hearing loss often comes on gradually over a period of many years. If you are exposed to loud noises, your hearing damage will accelerate and may become irreversible.

Noise can be defined as a sound that has the potential to damage your hearing. There are noise types that should be reduced and others that you must avoid. You can reduce the risk of noise-induced hearing loss by understanding the different types of noises your ears hear, and appreciating that some noises do not have harmful effects on our ability to hear, while others are quite damaging.

lot of traffic noise

Living and working in a city, or indeed anywhere where there is a lot of traffic noise, can become very annoying after a short time. There are very few of us who have not experienced this at some periods of our life. That you are reading this article means you are not one of the lucky people, who are not stuck near noisy, smelly cars a lot.

Living in areas with traffic noise, (well, I suppose that any noise would cause these problems) can cause some health problems if you are subjected to it for an extended period.

The noise can cause hypertension (high blood pressure)

It can stop you from sleeping well, which can lead to

• The immune system not being so resilient, leading to more illnesses
• Increased weight. Yes it is true – you can blame traffic and lack of sleep for weight gain
• Hormone imbalance – especially growth Hormones in children, and testosterone production in men
  
  

permanent hearing damage

The noise from the traffic should not give you any permanent hearing damage, fortunately, as the average volume of road traffic noise is around 75-80dB, and Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) recommends hearing protection when the perceived volume reaches around 85-90dB.

But these problems and annoyances can be relieved if you buy the Best Earplugs For Traffic Noise

There are several types of ear plug and ear defenders that are useful around traffic noise, and the one that you will need depends on the situation. These situations can be broadly categorised into three different types:

• Block some sounds, but still need to hear the conversations that are going on around you. This typically applies to people who work near traffic.
  
  
• Block as much noise as possible, but still allow you to hear some electronic devices. This usually applies to people who live in these areas, or workers that are in offices on phones, etc.
  
  
• Block as much noise as possible. This can be anyone in noisy traffic areas, who want some peace. Very common for sleeping, etc.

Below we describe each of the situations in more detail, and make some recommendations as to the earplugs that you might buy, and what you should look for.

Block Some Noise But Still Be Able To Hear

If you are working near heavy traffic, or maybe you have an apartment and live with your family there, then you will probably want to block some traffic sounds, but still want to hear what your customers/co-workers or family say to you.

The type of plug that you would want for this situation are high-fidelity plugs. These come in electronic or non-electronic versions. They will reduce the volumes of the loud noises, while not reducing the quieter sounds. Some more expensive of these plugs will even amplify the quiets sounds, making hearing conversations even easier.

Block As Much Noise As Possible, But Still Allow You To Hear Electronic Devices.

If you are in a situation where you need to hear people on a Skype call, listen to the TV, play games, or just listen to music, then you will probably look for some good noise-canceling headphones.

Noise-canceling headphones actively cancel out external noises by having a microphone on each ear, which listens to the outside sounds. The earpiece then plays the exact opposite sound wave, canceling out the external sounds. The sounds you want to hear are then also played by the earplugs, and these sounds are much easier to hear.

Noise-canceling earplugs work very well on continuous sounds like traffic noise, so should work very well in this situation. Ordinary headphones work as well. However, these will need to be played at a higher volume to hear well, which may be damaging to the ears.

Hearing Loss Caused By 3 Things - Traffic Noise

if you are exposed to loud noises, even those that are low in volume, your ear can be damaged. The more you listen to these noises, the worse the damage is likely to become.

The truth is your ability to hear is not fixed and does not last for life. You do have a choice: you can reduce the damage caused by noise-induced hearing loss or you can let it progress and cause further damage.

1) Decibel Level

The decibel level is the volume of a noise and it is measured in a logarithmic scale which means that every 10 level increase represents a 10 times increase in noise. For example, a 60 decibel level is 10 times more powerful than 50 decibel and 100 decibel is 100 times more powerful than 50 decibel.

People can be exposed to an 85 - 90 decibel noise for 8 hours at work without any risk of hearing damage as long as the noise is not too loud, but for this you must use ear plugs or ear muffs so that you can reduce traffic noise.

2) Time Period

The time period that you are exposed to noises can affect your hearing. The longer you are exposed, the worse your hearing may be compromised.

3) Frequency

The higher the frequency of a noise, the more damage it can cause. The higher the frequency is, the more sensitive your ears will be and you will hear it better even if it is very loud. If you are exposed to a 60 decibel sound for 8 hours at work, this is still only 85 decibels and would not have any impact on your ears.

But, if you are exposed to a 90 decibel sound for 8 hours at work, this can damage your hearing although at that time you would not be aware of this as it would be quite loud and repetitive and with some background noise such as conversation in the office.

Block Out As Much Noise As Possible.

Do this for many reasons in a high traffic area when the noise is bothering you. But the most common reason for this by far is so that you can get to sleep.

We have all been in the situation where you have to stay in a hotel – work, or visit somewhere, only to find that the hotel is near a busy road and sleeping is nearly impossible.

No earplugs can block out all the sounds, and you probably would not want to. Shrill noises like fire alarms and alarm clocks are very hard to block out – That’s why alarms and sirens are that pitch because it is so hard to block and easy to hear. Traffic noise is a low pitch, so easier to block.

But the earplugs that you would probably want for this situation are noise-canceling headphones (see above), where you could play some relaxing music. Or if you dislike that idea, then you can get some earplugs that block out most of the noise, like reusable plugs, if you are going to be there for more than a few days, foam plugs, or wax earplugs which are the best plugs for sleeping in – as they are the most comfortable – especially for side sleepers 

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