A lack of ear protection can cause a string of severe problems for your ears. These range from general hearing issues to a complete loss of hearing in your ears. In general, most people don’t subject themselves to loud noises long enough for them to have an impact. However, there are certain hobbies you need to be aware of as they can expose you to loud noises for extended periods.

Bearing that in mind, here are four hobbies you’ll definitely need ear protection for:

Going to shooting ranges

If you regularly take visits to your local shooting range, then you’ll 100% need ear protection. The sound of a gun firing is unbelievably loud, even from a small handgun. This is why so many people that fight in the army will return with extensive hearing damage and permanent tinnitus. At some shooting ranges, they provide you with ear protection like earmuffs and earplugs. However, if they don’t, then the onus is on you to bring yours along and wear them the whole time. Remember, even if you’re not firing your gun, someone else there probably will be.

Playing an instrument

People that play instruments can end up with quite a bit of damage to their ears. The obvious problem is that you need to hear what you’re playing, or else you might be playing the wrong notes. However, if you’re constantly playing a loud instrument – like the drums – then an audiologist will most likely suggest some form of ear protection. Think about electronic ear protection of things that don’t completely block out all sound for you. This lets you protect your ears by muffling the music, while still being able to hear what you’re playing.

Completing DIY projects

Getting involved in DIY projects is a great hobby to have as you’ll almost never be bored! Unfortunately, there are lots of loud noises that can damage your ears. Think about all the different power tools you’ll need to complete your projects. Simple handheld things like drills and saws will make an awful lot of noise. Therefore, you need to protect your ears and stop them from being exposed to these loud sounds for long periods.

Doing some gardening

Yes, gardening is another example of a hobby that you need ear protection for. In fact, if you talk to an audiologist, they often recommend earplugs for people that do lots of gardening. Again, this is similar to DIY in the sense that you use some really noisy tools. If anything, gardening tools are even noisier than some power tools! You have things like lawnmowers, strimmers, and massive hedge trimmers that get excruciatingly loud. If you’re outside gardening for an hour, then that’s enough time to damage your ears.

It’s essential that you wear ear protection of some kind if you do any of these hobbies. This will stop your ears from undergoing so much stress from all the loud noises you hear. The worst thing is, you’re really close to the source of the noise in all these hobbies. This makes it all the more critical that you wear ear protection and keep your hearing intact.