Should I Wear Hearing Protection When Mowing?
Last Updated on August 8, 2019 by Duncan
Many people have the impression that the only people that should worry about hearing protection are those that spend hundreds of hours mowing lawns. These are professional lawn mowing companies.
Due to this, regular homeowners wonder “should I wear hearing protection when mowing?’ The answer is that you should wear protection devices.
Why do you need ear protection while mowing?
When you are exposed to the lawnmower noise for a long time without protection, you risk suffering from noise-induced hearing loss. This is an irreversible condition; therefore, when you are affected, you stay with the condition permanently.
Signs you are suffering from the condition include:
- Increasing the volume of the radio or TV
- Inability to hear higher-pitched sounds that you were hearing before
- Always complaining that people are talking in low tones
How do you protect yourself when mowing?
There are plenty of ways in which you can protect yourself from the harmful effects of loud noises made by the lawn mowing machine. These ways include:
Avoid exposure
If you absolutely want to protect your hearing, avoid noise exposure at all costs. Instead of mowing the lawn by yourself, hire an expert to help you out. The professional will take the blunt on your behalf and all you need to do is to part with just a small amount of money.
When the professional is mowing, stay out of the house so that you don’t hear the lawnmower.
Wear hearing protection
If you can’t avoid the lawnmower, work at reducing the amount of noise that is getting into your ears. You do this by wearing hearing protection. The most common types of hearing protection devices that you can use are headphones for mowing.
They are made from tough plastic and in addition to providing you with top-notch hearing protection, they are also durable; therefore, you save a lot of money in the long run.
When buying the headphones, pay close attention to the fit. For you to get optimum noise protection, the headphones should be tight-fitting and no sounds should leak.
You also need to pay attention to the brand you buy. As you might guess, you are better off with popular brands. While they will be expensive to purchase, they will be cheaper in the long run as they are durable.
For the headphones to last for long, you need to take good care of them. Before you wear them, carefully inspect them for any defects they might be having. If they have any problems, fix them. You also should clean them once you are done with mowing.
While headphones are great, some people find them too heavy for mowing. If this is you, you can always go with earplugs. These are small ear protection devices often made from silicone.
To wear them, you need to twist them then carefully insert them into your ears. The pieces seal the ear canal providing you with a tight seal so that you can’t hear the lawnmower noise.
Unlike earmuffs, earplugs have a shorter lifespan after which you have to replace them. Just like when buying headphones, ensure that the earplugs you buy are from a reputable brand.
Earplugs are known to spread ear diseases. To protect yourself, ensure that you keep them clean at all times. Before you wear them, inspect them for any issues they might be having.
Damaged or worn out earplugs won’t provide you with the ear protection you are looking for; therefore, you shouldn’t use pieces that are in bad shape.
For you to get the most from the earplugs, invest in custom earplugs. While they will be expensive when buying them, they fit better hence provide you with a better service. When you take good care of them, they last longer.
Monitor the volume of radio headphones
Are you one of the people that love listening to the radio when mowing? You should be cautious of the volume you set the radio. Radio headphones work by making a sound that neutralizes the lawnmower noise.
This means that for you to keep off all the noise from the lawnmower, you have to raise the radio volume to the highest settings possible. This can easily get out of hand and you end up damaging your ears.
Watch the volume you set the lawnmower so that it’s not too high that you end up damaging your ears instead of protecting them. If someone can hear the volume from the headphones, the volume is most likely too high.
Invest in high-quality ear protection
You can wear ear protection but there is no way you are going to protect your hearing if you go with cheap pieces. To be safe, go for high-quality pieces that not only last for a long time, but also provide better protection.
The most popular brands you should try out are 3M and Husqvarna.
As mentioned above, one of the most important things you should pay attention to when making the purchase is the fit of the pieces. Ensure the pieces fit you perfectly so that no sounds leaks.
You also need to pay attention to how comfortable the pieces are. You don’t want to invest in units that put a lot of strain on your ears as you will be uncomfortable the entire time you are mowing.
If you are buying the units online. Try them out and if you find them too uncomfortable, return them. You don’t want units that are bad for your ears.
Take breaks
Even when you are wearing the ear protection devices, noise tends to penetrate causing damage. For you to be safe, take breaks after an hour of mowing. This way you relieve your ears from the noise thus decreasing the chances of causing ear damage.