Tip #1: Keep the Volume Down
Starting with something simple, but surprisingly hard to do.
When the background noise gets too much it’s almost an automatic reaction to turn up the volume. Unfortunately, the amped music adds to the background noise, putting extra stress on your ears. It’s best to aim for keeping the volume below 60% of the maximum.
Another easy trick is to ask your friends if they can hear your music – if so, it’s up too high!
Tip #2: Avoid Extreme Noise
Obviously some things just can’t be avoided – you can’t alter accidentally putting your speakers on too loud, having to walk past a building site, or taking the noisy tube every morning. But if you can avoid subjecting your ear drums to unnecessary wear and tear by taking a different route to work, why don’t you? Every little helps.
Tip #3: Give Your Ears Time to Recover
Make sure you take a few minutes away from your headphones every hour or so re-establish a ‘normal’ volume level. If you can hold your earphones at arms length and still hear the music, you probably need to let your ears recover.
A good way to make sure you remember is to set a reminder on your phone. If you also take a quick walk around the office and drink some water at the same time, you’ll feel fantastic!
Tip #4: Switch Off More
This is the most simple way to use headphones to protect your hearing. It may seem a bit boring at first, but taking some quiet time to yourself is great for focus and productivity. Instead of blasting tunes, put some headphones on and block out the excessive noise of the world – especially when it’s you co-workers causing an unwanted distraction.
Tip #5: Buy Some Noise Cancelling Headphones to Protect Your Hearing
This kind of headphone helps tune out the background noise.
They aren’t just a physical barrier against unwanted interruptions like the hums of public transport. Active noise cancelling headphones emit sound waves that cause destructive interference, eliminating noises before they reach your ears. Even squealing, high pitched noises can be made far more tolerable (think that crying baby on the bus…) without diminishing the sound quality of your music.
