Should You Wear Hearing Protection While Mowing Lawn?

For you to avoid suffering from noise-induced hearing loss, you need to wear hearing protection while mowing lawn.

According to the hearing loss association of America, 1 in every 5 Americans suffers from hearing loss. The numbers increase up to 1 in every 3 by the age of 65.

Over 60% of the people who get the condition get it from work-related activities such as lawn mowing.

The longer you are exposed to the lawn mowing noise, the higher the risk of suffering from hearing loss.

Should you wear ear protection while mowing?

The obvious answer is that you should wear the protection for you to protect yourself from noise-induced hearing loss.

Many homeowners have the impression that ear protection when mowing the lawn is only for professionals, but this isn’t the case.

Remember that the noise from the lawnmower doesn’t discriminate against a regular homeowner and a professional providing lawn mowing services.

Regardless of how small the area you are looking to mow, always wear ear protection devices.

What is the best ear protection for lawn mowing?

You have a wide range of ear protection options when you are looking to protect your ears when mowing. The most common options include:

Earmuffs

They are common with professionals but there is no harm in you getting them as a regular homeowner. You can buy them from your local store or online.

Regardless of where you make the purchase, ensure that the pieces are of high quality and completely cover your head providing you with a perfect fit.

Different earmuffs have different noise protection capabilities. When making your choice, ensure that the units you go with provide you with enough protection from the lawnmower you are using.

No two earmuff companies produce identical pieces. Some of the most reputable brands you should give a try are: Mpow, 3M, and Husqvarna.

In the event, you order the headphones online and when you wear them they are ill-fitting, don’t use them.

This is because they won’t provide you with the noise protection you deserve. Return them and get a replacement that perfectly seals your ears.

Earplugs

They are made from foam. For you to wear them, roll them between your thumb and index fingers until they are small enough to fit your ear.

You should then insert them into your ear and give them a few seconds to fill the ear canal, creating a tight seal.

Although, they don’t provide the same levels of noise protection as earmuffs, they provide substantial ear protection that protects.

Earplugs are cheap. They are even cheaper when you buy them in bulk. Just like earmuffs, there are plenty of companies that sell them, but just a few are worth the time.

Two of the most reputable companies are Max 1 line and Howard Leight.

If you have a large lawn, chances are that you spend a long time there mowing. You need comfortable earplugs that won’t put a lot of pressure on your ears. The best pieces to go for are moldable earplugs.

For you to wear them, you need to heat them in boiling water to soften them up. After cooling, insert them into your ears.

When they set, which is usually after a few minutes, they retain their shape while still maintaining their flexibility.

To save money, avoid buying disposable earplugs. Go for replaceable pieces instead. Damaged or worn out pieces don’t provide you with proper noise protection; therefore, you should replace them when the need arises.

Before you wear the pieces, inspect them for any problems and if present, get rid of them.

Things you should know when protecting your ears while mowing

Most of the lawnmower noise comes from the spinning lawnmower blades

Many people think that the lawnmower noise comes from the lawnmower engine, but this isn’t the case. It comes from the spinning blades.

You can tell the thing is you have been in a scenario where the deck belt breaks. As soon as the blades stop mowing, the noise reduces substantially.

In fact, the engine seems quiet in comparison.

For you to reduce the amount of noise the lawnmower makes, ensure that the mower blades are in top condition. This calls for you to regularly inspect them.

If they are worn out or damaged, replace them. You also should keep them sharp so that they don’t make a lot of noise when cutting grass.

Watch out when using lawnmower ear protection with radio

If you love listening to music when mowing, there are plenty of radio headphones for lawn mowing you can go with.

While they drown the lawnmower noise, use them with a grain of salt. This is because you can end up damaging your ears.

When you put on the radio you increase the amount of noise you are exposed to. This means that even if you might not be hearing the lawnmower noise, you might be causing more damage to your ears.

Avoid using radio headphones for lawn mowing unless you enjoy listening to music when working.

Even when you are listening to music, ensure that the music volume isn’t too high to cause damage.

When used correctly, earplugs can hurt your ears

Plenty of accidents have been reported where earplugs cause damage to the ears.

Due to this, some people shy away from wearing them. Earplugs are made from a soft material that is spongy and can’t puncture the eardrum.

When you wear them properly, you don’t have to worry about damaging your ears or pushing the earwax too far into the ears.

You should be keen when buying the pieces. As a rule of thumb, ensure that they are made by a reputable company.

Avoid units made by a no-name company as they will end up being a pain in the ass to have.

They also might lead to diseases putting your life at great danger.