Ear Protection
Whether at work or play, a highly noisy environment can seriously damage your hearing and increase your risk of developing tinnitus.
Our Yorkshire clinics in Harrogate, Ilkley and Wykeham offer bespoke ear protection to reduce noise levels.
Why do loud noises cause hearing loss?
Sound waves bend the microscopic hair-like projections inside the inner ear. This triggers the electrical signal that the brain translates as a sound. The louder the noise, the larger the sound wave and the more it makes the hair cells bend. Too much movement can kill them, and they don’t grow back.
How loud does the noise have to be to cause damage?
Any noise that is 85 decibels or above can lead to damage. Our ears evolved thousands of years ago, when the loudest sound would have been thunder or a branch snapping. The modern world includes activities such as listening to music through headphones at maximum volume (105 decibels) and the sound of firearms (150 decibels).
What sort of activities require ear protection equipment?
- Playing in a band, DJing, music classes or going to concerts
- Operating loud machinery including fork-lift trucks, lawnmowers and jackhammers
- Motorsports – whether you’re a driver, part of the crew or a spectator
- Loud bangs from shooting, whether you’re in the armed forces, the police or shooting for leisure
As used by world-class musicians
We can provide attenuator ear plugs used by some of the biggest names in the music world. They’re not strictly a plug but more of a filter. They work by reducing the intensity of sound reaching dangerous listening levels. However, they still allow you to hear sounds such as music, alarms or conversation.
The ear protection we recommend depends on your needs. We have helped a brass band player with an attenuator which cuts out noise over a certain level. A clay pigeon shooter’s device is programmed to work for impulse sounds such as when he fires the gun. It also adds 25 decibels the rest of the time so he can more clearly hear people when they speak.
Helping sportspeople focus
Wind noise can be distracting when you’re outdoors. We provide ear protection that eliminates wind noise. This can be really useful to people such as runners, golfers and hill walkers.
Guarding against swimmers’ or surfers’ ear
Did you know cold water stimulates bone growth? Most of our bones are covered by skin. However when we swim, water can reach the bone that forms our ear canal. This encourages protrusions to grow, forming bumps in our ear canal that can affect our hearing. Bespoke swimming ear plugs can help prevent this.
How we test for noise damage
If you blow over the top of several bottles, you can hear the sound changing depending on the size of the bottle and how full of liquid it is. What you are hearing is a change in the resonance frequency. The resonance frequency of the ear canal should be 4 kilohertz. Measuring this helps us assess if your ears are damaged.
Specialist ear plugs
We provide ear plugs that you can't buy in shops. We can help you by:
- Sourcing devices to reduce noise levels.
- Providing specialist swimming ear plugs and sleeping ear plugs.
Getting the perfect fit
Here in Harrogate we can take a mould of your ear, using medical putty and foam. It takes less than three minutes to set. We'll then send this impression of your ear to our manufacturer to create ear plugs custom-made for you.
What our clients say
Book a Consultation
To book your consultation, please take a look at our book an appointment page. You can also call us in Harrogate on 01423 429 222 or email enquiries@thehearingsuite.co.uk
The Hearing Suite
Turn up the volume on your life. We offer unrivalled care to improve your hearing. We can also help with tinnitus, ear wax, noise protection and other hearing issues. We don’t just hear, we listen.
Call: 01423 429222
enquiries@thehearingsuite.co.uk
Working Hours: Mon to Fri: 9 AM - 5 PM
Find Us
Harrogate
The Hearing Suite, Highfield House, 52 East Parade, Harrogate, HG1 5LT
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Ilkley
6 The Grove, Ilkley, LS29 9EG
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Wykeham
3B, Langley House, Wykeham Business Park, Wykeham, Scarborough YO13 9QP
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