Straightforward Information About Tinnitus
If you already have tinnitus, protecting your remaining hearing becomes especially important. Further noise damage can worsen existing tinnitus or create new symptoms. At the same time, there is a balance to strike: overprotecting your ears in normal-volume environments can actually make things worse.
You should wear hearing protection in genuinely loud environments: concerts, sporting events, when using power tools, mowing the lawn, riding motorcycles, shooting firearms, or working in noisy occupational settings. As a general guideline, if you have to raise your voice to be heard by someone an arm's length away, the environment is loud enough to warrant protection.
See the decibel table on the Noise-Induced Tinnitus page for specific exposure levels and safe durations.
Foam earplugs — Inexpensive and widely available. When properly inserted, they can reduce noise by 20–30 dB. The key is correct insertion: roll the plug tightly, pull the ear up and back, insert deeply, and hold until it expands.
Musician's earplugs — These attenuate sound more evenly across frequencies, preserving sound quality while reducing volume. They are ideal for concerts and music venues. Custom-molded versions from an audiologist offer the best fit and performance.
Earmuffs — Over-ear protection is easy to use and effective, especially for intermittent exposure like power tools. For very loud environments, earmuffs can be combined with earplugs for additional protection.
Electronic hearing protection — These devices allow normal sounds through while blocking sudden loud impulses (like gunshots). They are popular for shooting and hunting.
This is an important and sometimes counterintuitive point. Some people with tinnitus begin wearing earplugs in normal everyday environments — at the grocery store, in the car, during normal conversation. This is generally counterproductive for several reasons:
First, it deprives the auditory system of normal input, which can cause the brain to increase its gain even further (see How Your Brain Creates the Sound), potentially making tinnitus louder.
Second, it can contribute to the development of hyperacusis — an abnormal sensitivity to normal-volume sounds — which is a separate and challenging condition that sometimes co-occurs with tinnitus.
Third, overprotection reinforces the brain's belief that sound is dangerous, which can increase anxiety and avoidance behaviors. See Tinnitus and Anxiety.
The guideline is simple: protect in genuinely loud environments, live normally in normal-volume environments.