They are widely used in both factories and construction sites. You may also have seen your neighbor wearing a pair when he had to build a new carport. And you might be wearing a pair yourself when you welcome the new year with fireworks on January 1. Here, of course, we are talking about hearing protection.

Hearing protection is a type of safety equipment that is widely used in many contexts. But when should you use hearing protection? How much does hearing protection dampen? And when are hearing protection mandatory? And can there be a difference between hearing protection? We give you the answers to your questions about hearing protection in the article here!

When should you wear hearing protection?

There are many different situations where it would be a good idea to wear hearing protection. You can probably think of some obvious situations: When drilling with loud bits on construction sites, with noisy machinery in industry, or when fireworks are to be set off on New Year's Eve. But in reality, there are many more situations where it is a really good idea to put on a pair of ear defenders. What situations could it be?

In short, you should wear hearing protection in all situations where there is a risk of being inconvenienced or caused by noise. For example, it could be anything from when the grass needs to be cut in the backyard, when you are at work, or when you attend a loud rock concert. The rule of thumb is that you should wear hearing protection if you are 1 m away from the nearest person and you have to shout so that he or she can hear you.

When hearing protection is required

There are therefore many situations where it is a really good idea to wear hearing protection. And then there are situations where hearing protection is required - simply to take as good care of your hearing as possible. This could be, for example, in industry, in technical rooms on, for example, large ships or in buildings, or in some tasks on construction sites.

Even if you are faced with a situation where hearing protection is not required, it will often make sense to wear them anyway. The more you take care of your hearing, the better. Therefore, invest in a good set of hearing protection that suits your needs and the loud situations you may encounter in your daily life or when working on your DIY projects.

Are they all the same, or is there a difference in hearing protection?

There are many hearing protectors on the market, which you can see here. Does it matter which hearing protection you choose? Or is there a difference between hearing protection? The correct answer is that there is actually a big difference between different hearing protectors.

There are several types of hearing protection, all of which are suitable for different situations, needs and wishes. Types of hearing protection include hearing protection with a headband, hearing protection for helmet mounting, electronic hearing protection with radio and the option to connect Bluetooth, and hearing protection with communication.

You can read more about the different types of hearing protection by clicking on the type of hearing protection you want to know more about.

How much does hearing protection dampen – and when are hearing protection mandatory?

A factor that you should definitely also consider before choosing hearing protection is how high a sound attenuation the hearing protection should have. Different types of hearing protection have different noise reduction, and you therefore have to find out how high a noise reduction your hearing protection should have. The optimal choice would be to choose hearing protection with a noise reduction of 75-80 dB. With noise reduction to this level, you still have the opportunity to communicate effortlessly with the outside world - without putting your precious hearing at risk.

Hearing protection is required at workplaces if the noise level is above 85 dB. In the case of noise of 80 dB, however, hearing protection must already be offered to employees. If you must use hearing protection for other noisy situations, you can therefore only be strongly recommended to acquire a pair that will provide optimal noise reduction.