About 20 percent of all people report some kind of hearing loss. While age might be the most common factor leading to trouble with your hearing, it’s not the only one. If your life involves exposure to loud environments and lots of noise, it could be taking a toll on your health. An audiologist can help diagnose the cause and severity of hearing loss once it’s apparent, but they can also help you find the methods of treating and preventing further damage to your ears. Ear protection could be one of those methods, and here’s why you should use some.

Real ear protection is effective

Off-the-shelf earbuds might only be so effective. They can reduce the noise of the environment, but not as well as custom fit hearing protection. The difference is that the latter is designed using casts of your own ear, ensuring that they fit you perfectly and seal the ear as completely as possible. What’s more, many hearing protection devices are made with special filters that specifically protect you from the kinds of noise most prevalent and dangerous in your life. For instance, if you work in construction, there are buds that can help block out the sound of heavy machinery above all else. The technology behind ear protection is only getting more sophisticated.

They’re the best backup option when you can’t tackle noise at the source

When an audiologist is performing a hearing examination, they often begin with questions hoping to find out about your medical history, aspects of your lifestyle and more. If you mention any environments you spend a lot of time in that produce a lot of noise, it will be recommended you find a way to either reduce the noise at the source or remove yourself from that environment. In cases where that’s not possible, such as if you work in particularly noisy environments, ear protection is your single best bet for reducing the harm that such a level of noise could cause.

They are getting much more comfortable

A lot of people dislike the idea of wearing earbuds because the cheaper, off-the-shelf kinds they may have bought before were uncomfortable, obviously visible, and felt unnatural in their ears. However, there are many more sophisticated varieties that cause much less of a hassle. As mentioned, there are custom-molded ear protection devices available now designed specifically to fit your ear, so instead of having to be forced in to plug up your ears, they fit them snugly. What’s more, the molded design allows them to be much more discreet when they’re in there. Furthermore, hearing protection can be designed to block off several kinds of noise, but can still let you hear certain aspects of the environment, such as speech or music without the risk of further hearing damage.

If you’re concerned you might be starting to suffer hearing loss, or you live in environments where noise is a serious issue, you should invest in ear protection. It wouldn’t hurt to take a trip to your local audiologist for an examination, either.