A good rule of thumb? “If somebody’s at an arm’s length from you and you find you’re having to raise your voice or you can’t hear them, that’s a sign that place is too loud,” Sarow says. Here are a few particularly intense culprits:
- Bars and restaurants
- Workout classes
- Movie theaters
- Sporting events
- Fireworks
- Amusement parks
- Riding ATVs
- Water sports (like boating or using a Jet Ski)
What you can do about it
Again, earplugs are super helpful here. If you’re a concert fan, you could try musician-caliber earplugs from brands like Loop, Decibullz, and Earasers. These are often custom-fit to your ears (so you can skip the trial-and-error phase) and “maintain the integrity of what you’re listening to, they just soften it,” Ashby-Scabis says. (If you are a parent or caregiver, you can also encourage children to use earplugs when they go to a loud concert or amusement park.)
Reposition yourself whenever you can, too: For example, pick a bike at your favorite indoor cycling class that isn’t right next to the speakers. “The more distance you put between a noise source, the less damage it’s going to cause,” Ashby-Scabis says. And it’s okay to (politely!) ask restaurant staff to turn down the volume. “I think it’s hard when you have to advocate for yourself,” Ashby-Scabis says. “Most people [think], I’ll just let this pass. I don’t want to be the person to complain.’” (And if it’s deafening, chances are another diner or employee probably agrees and will be thankful you spoke up.)
4. Household chores
Mowing the lawn, blow drying your hair, or using power tools can already feel like a drag—but they’re also bad news for your hearing: You could be looking at 91 to 112 decibels for something as mundane as making your morning smoothie in a blender. “It’s going to depend on how loud it is, but any extended exposure, if it’s exceeding 80 decibels, you do want to limit it,” Sarow says.
What you can do about it
You can fire up the aforementioned noise level app and stick in some earplugs (yes, even to whip up your a.m. drink), per Sarow. Noise-canceling headphones can offer a little buffer, but earplugs are more legit, she adds.
5. Your daily commute
You’re going to encounter a lot of sounds on the train or even just walking through your neighborhood. Depending on the logistics of your trip, you might hear any of the following with particularly high decibels (between 91 and 130) on a regular basis, Ashby-Scabis says:
- Trains passing
- Motorcycles driving by
- Sirens
- Planes flying overhead
- Construction
These noises aren’t constant, of course, but they’re harsh enough to cause damage pretty quickly. That’s because “the decibel scale is logarithmic, meaning that every time we’re going up by three decibels, the intensity is doubling,” Sarow says. “So the higher the decibel level, the more quickly the damage can occur.”
What you can do about it
If you think you might run into an extra-loud thing (say, a subway platform, which can reach more than 100 decibels), consider wearing earplugs the second you step outside. Of course, you can’t plan for all interruptions. Here’s a quick way to save your ears in a pinch, per Sarow: If an ambulance is passing, or you walk by a jackhammer, press down on your tragus, which is the fleshy flap near your ear canal. It should muffle the noise at least a little bit, and “some protection is better than nothing,” she says.
6. Smoking
Some chemicals in your environment (say, pesticides or even compounds in paint) can be toxic to your ears, but tobacco smoke is a biggie, Ashby-Scabis says. Exposure alone to cigarettes can cause issues—it’s actually a major reason why pregnant people are advised not to be around it, as it may have the potential to damage a fetus’ auditory development.
What you can do about it
Stopping the habit isn’t easy, but it’s one of the best things you can do for your hearing: It helps make the extra risk of hearing loss from smoking go down, according to research. (Here‘s advice on how to quit smoking for good, from longtime smokers.)
If all this has you concerned about your ears, don’t freak out just yet. You’re playing the long game. “Damage that happens early on can take years to catch up,” Ashby-Scabis says. “We walk around wearing headphones all the time, we’re talking to people on the phone [constantly]. We are often surrounded by noise.” Take action now so you can hear the good stuff for years (and years) to come.
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