An ear plug is designed to fit comfortably into the human ear and protect a person from hearing damage caused by excessive noise.
Ear plugs are simple, affordable items that can be carried in any pocket and provide benefits that far outweigh their modest size and appearance.
In the list below our product and health experts outline the 14 most important benefits of ear plugs.
14 Benefits Of Ear Plugs
Ear plugs are a simple and effective way to preserve your hearing and, by extension, your quality of life. Though small and unassuming they provide an array of benefits.
1: Ear plugs protect your ears from loud noises.
Experts agree that one of the best ways to prevent loss of hearing and damage to your ears is to wear ear plugs (1). We live in a world that is becoming noisier with every passing year. There are now more than 1.3 billion vehicles on the world’s roads and as many as perhaps 39,000 airplanes in the skies (2). Add to that all the construction noise, noise from building and maintaining roads, as well as noise from concerts, loudspeakers, and the voices of more than 7 billion people. It’s safe to say that our ears are under assault.
2: Ear plugs can protect your ears if you’re a musician.
Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, Sting, Chris Martin and classical genius Ludwig van Beethoven. What do they have in common? They are just some of the well-known musicians who suffered hearing loss as a result of being around loud music their entire lives (3). If you love hitting up the clubs do yourself a favor and wear ear plugs. The hearing you save will be your own.
3: Ear plugs can help you get a good night’s sleep.
Our increasingly noisy world doesn’t just rattle your ear drums during the day. More and more cities are putting off disruptive construction work to roads, bridges and sewers until night time (4). That way, they avoid creating huge traffic bottlenecks. But the price of keeping the traffic flowing often amounts to keeping people awake at night. Ear plugs can block out the noise and let you sleep easy.
4: Ear plugs can prevent tinnitus.
If you’ve ever walked out of a club or a rock concert with your ears ringing you’ve experienced tinnitus (5). In many cases, it goes away a day or two after the show. However, for those repeatedly exposed to excessive noise levels, it can become a permanent part of their life. It’s estimated that more than 50 million Americans now suffer some degree hearing loss or tinnitus. Ear plugs can prevent this condition.
5: Ear plugs enhance workplace safety.
Construction and factory workers are exposed to some of the noisiest environments on earth day after day. They also make up a large percentage of the people suffering from tinnitus and severe hearing loss. At least they used to. These days OSHA has strict guidelines regarding workplace noise levels (6). And heavy fines await those companies that violate these guidelines.
6: Ear plugs will help prevent sea sickness.
Sea sickness can turn a dream cruise into a nightmare in short order. The cause is a disconnect between the inner ear (where your balance center resides) and your environment. While your inner ear is recording all kinds of wave motion, your environment is stable. That confuses your brain, and nausea is the result. Ear plugs are one of many ways to prevent sea sickness (7).
7: Ear plugs can make your flight more comfortable.
One of the worst aspects of flying is dealing with the constant change in air pressure (8) and the pain it can generate in the inner ear. It’s one of the biggest reasons babies cry on airplanes. But there’s no need to join the tiny tots in a sob session. Instead, a good pair of ear plugs can help prevent the extreme pressure changes in the ear and fend off the pain.
8: Ear plugs are easy to take with you.
Most ear plugs are little things that can easily be slipped into your pocket before you go out. And because you never know when you’re going to encounter loud construction equipment or extreme levels of street noise, you should always have a pair with you. When you head out on your dream vacation, don’t forget to pack some in your luggage too. And take a pair on the airplane while you’re at it.
9: Ear plugs can let you enjoy concerts without worrying.
The live music experience is exhilarating. But it’s also dangerous to your ears. Concerts have gotten progressively louder over the years (9). To the point where sitting or standing too close to the stage presents a danger to your hearing. The good news is that a simple set of ear plugs will take the top off the sound and let you relax and enjoy the show.
10: Ear plugs are affordable.
It’s difficult to justify not protecting your ears when a decent set of ear plugs can be had for pennies. That’s right. Companies like Mack’s (see above list) provide 50 pairs of ear plugs for less than 10 bucks. That’s less than a dime per ear plug. When you consider all that you stand to lose if you don’t protect your ears a few pennies seems like a pretty smart investment.
11: Ear plugs can help you study more effectively.
If there is one thing that undermines more students than anything else it’s distractions. It’s hard to study for a big test if your friends are partying down the hall, or there’s noise drifting in from the street. Being able to shut out distractions with some simple ear plugs can lend a boost to your GPA. That, in turn, can pay handsome dividends for the rest of your life.
12: Ear plugs can make you a better employee.
Open office plans allow employers to keep closer tabs on their workers. But they also undermine productivity (10). Why? Because they’re so noisy. Cubicles were nothing to write home about, that’s for sure. But at least they managed to contain noise. If you want to be able to concentrate and get anything done in an open plan office, you need to get creative. You’ll need ear plugs.
13: Ear plugs can save your kids’ hearing.
In all the talk about the negative effects of excessive noise on city dwellers (11) one group that’s often lost in the conversation is kids. But their ears suffer to just as great a degree as their parents. Damage done to a child’s ears when they’re young can haunt them for the rest of their life. Ear plugs are a simple, reliable way to ensure your kids don’t grow up asking you to repeat everything twice.
14: Ear plugs will make sporting events more enjoyable.
If you’ve been to a sporting event in a modern arena lately, you know that the PA systems are often incredibly loud. Almost as loud as you’ll experience at a rock concert. American football stadiums can be even louder (12), even though they’re outdoors. Thanks to the combined voices of 70,000 or 80,000 people. It’s great to cheer on the home team. But if you want to avoid hearing loss, you’d be wise to wear ear plugs.
Conclusion
Ear plugs are the little safety device that could. They are designed to fit snugly into the ear and prevent excessive noise levels from causing both short and long-term hearing loss. In that regard they succeed spectacularly.