Small habits, big impact: Protecting your hearing every day

For today’s International Noise Awareness Day, we spoke with our hearing protection expert, Jan-Willem Meinesz, about why preventing noise‑related hearing loss is easier than most people think and how a few simple changes can protect your hearing for life.

One of the most important concepts to understand is noise fatigue.³ Even moderate sound levels, when sustained over a full day, leave your ears tired, often without feeling noticeably loud in the moment. Ultimately, it’s not a single event that matters, but total daily exposure: every commute, every meeting, every social occasion layered on top of each other. A useful rule of thumb: If you have to raise your voice to be understood by someone standing next to you, you're already in the danger zone.

Hearing protection that works

“The excitement on people's faces when they experience what good hearing protection can do, that's a big motivator for me. People are often surprised by how much more relaxed listening can feel,” says Jan-Willem.

According to him, protecting your ears is easier and more comfortable than many people expect. High‑quality hearing protection is designed to protect the ears from harmful sound levels while maintaining a natural listening experience and clear speech perception as far as possible.⁴ This mindset is also gaining traction: what was once seen as uncool is increasingly accepted as a smart and desirable choice, particularly among concert-goers and festival crowds.

The most practical tip from Jan-Willem? Keep your earplugs stored in a small carry case attached to your keychain so you’ll always have them with you. And put them in just before entering a noisy environment, giving your brain a moment to adjust makes the experience noticeably more comfortable from the start.

Myths worth leaving behind

Still, two common beliefs stand in the way of better hearing care today. The first is the idea that occasional loud events don't really matter. In reality, every high-intensity exposure adds to the cumulative load on your ears. Layered on top of an already fatigued auditory system, even a single event can leave a lasting mark.

The second myth is perhaps more damaging: the belief that it's too late to act once some hearing loss has already occurred. “It isn't,” emphasizes Jan-Willem. While lost hearing cannot be restored, protecting what you still have is always worthwhile. Hearing loss is also shaped by many factors beyond noise, i.e. aging, genetics, overall health, fatigue, and even medication. At any stage of life, supporting your hearing health, for example, by using hearing protection in noisy environments, is more important than most people realize. 

Know the early signs of a noisy environment

The early signals are often subtle: needing a little more effort to follow conversations in noisy environments, occasional tinnitus (a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears) after a loud evening, or an increasing sensitivity to certain sounds. These are easy to overlook, and it can take years before a change shows up clearly on a hearing test. That's exactly why proactive habits matter — not only to prevent damage in extreme situations, but to reduce the everyday strain on your ears and preserve what you have for the long term.

“Your hearing shapes how you experience the world, conversations, music, the sounds of daily life. This International Noise Awareness Day is a good moment to start treating it that way: check in with your ears, keep your earplugs close, and take the small steps that add up to a lifetime of better hearing,” concludes Jan-Willem.