Protect your hearing: How to properly wear ear plugs

INDIANAPOLIS — Farmers are exposed to loud noises daily and have the highest prevalence of hearing loss among all categories of workers.

Hearing protection, such as ear plugs or muffs, can prevent hearing loss.

“Frequent noise exposure and high prevalence of hearing loss are really hallmarks of farming,” said Marjorie McCullagh, professor and occupational health nursing program director at University of Michigan, during a webinar hosted by AgriSafe. “We’ve known this for decades. It’s a longstanding problem.”

Sound is measured in units called decibels. The bigger the number of decibels the louder the sound. Anything louder than 85 decibels is known to cause hearing loss and other problems.

Farm task noise levels:

• Tractors: 74-112 decibels

• Grain dryers: 85-110

• Combines: 85-105

• Chain saws: 77-115

• Pig squeals: 85-112

How can you tell if a noise is too loud? If you have to raise your voice to be heard by someone who is an arm’s length away, then you should wear hearing protection. Repeated exposures to loud noise can damage ear hair cells to the point that they won’t recover.

“Most people with noise-induced hearing loss have a constant ringing or buzzing in their ears called tinnitus,” McCullagh said. “Tinnitus is a signal to you that you have damaged your hair cells and your hearing.”

She shared three ways to protect your ears from loud noises.

1. Get away: "If you can't get rid of the noise, then get away from the noise," McCullagh said. "Putting distance between you and the noise will quickly diminish the sound energy and its harmful effects on you."

2. Turn it down: "You might have the chance to turn down the noise, like when you're using a head set or TV," McCullagh said.

3. Wear hearing protection: There are several types of hearing protection to choose from, including muffs, ear plugs and semi-aurals.

“Most people have to experiment with several kinds before they find what they like,” McCullagh said. “But the best hearing protector is the one you’ll use.

“Remember, when selecting your hearing protection, more is not necessarily better. You want your hearing protection to bring down the noise in your ears to a safe level. But you still want to be able to hear what’s going on.”

Farmers should keep ear plugs or muffs readily available.

Most people don’t know how to insert ear plugs properly, McCullagh said. She explained how to use pre-molded ear plugs, which have ridges on them.

“Hold the rigid stem in one hand, and reach over your head with the opposite arm to pull the outer ear up and back,” she said. “This straightens your ear canal, making it possible to seat the plug properly.

“Slowly insert the plug, release the hand pulling the outer ear and the hand holding the plug, lowering your arms. If the plug fits correctly, sound gets quieter around you and it feels comfortable.

“Once you repeat the process in the other ear, you’re well protected from most dangerous noise. To remove the ear plug, gently wiggle and twist it as you pull it out.”