Our ability to hear is very important to us, it allows us to listen to our favorite music, and it enables us to hear sounds that can indicate the presence of potential dangers. But the most important aspect of our hearing is the ability is gives us to hear and easily communicate with other people, to listen and to learn. One of the main causes of deafness is due to exposure of excessive noise. We are all constantly exposed to noise, at home when we are working in the garden with a lawn mower, while cleaning the house using a vacuum cleaner or even while preparing food with a food processor or blender. Our ears can probably tolerate it most of the time but if exposed repeatedly, especially to extreme loud noises like the sound of loud engines at the factory while working or the earsplitting sound from a rifle while hunting may lead to immediate permanent hearing loss, and once the damage is done it cannot be repaired. That's why we need to take good care of our hearing, by wearing hearing protection gears and devices. Depending on where you intend to use it, you can choose from many types of hearing protectors, like the basic earplugs and earmuffs or head phones. They work by simply attenuating both the low and high frequency sounds to a tolerable level, usually to about 22 dB for earplugs and 27 dB for earmuffs or head phones. Some manufacturer have taken it to the next level and found a way to filter different sound frequency differently by using a combination different material for different applications.

For extreme noises like when you are in a shooting range especially if you are using high caliber rifles like shotgun, you need a more sophisticated hearing protector like the electronic hearing protection . This sophisticated device is designed to attenuate only the unwanted sound produced at certain frequency, like the sound of the gun and jet engines but not the sound from a breaking glass, horn from a speeding car and the voice of other people. This is done by using a microphone and amplifier to attenuate unwanted noise and amplify weak sounds before it plays back to the built-in speaker almost simultaneously. It's like a high speed repeater but filters the sounds first before feeding it to you. It also has a volume control so you can adjust the sound coming from normal conversation and the sound indication of potential dangers. Both cups have its individual microphone to mimic the sound of the surrounding in full stereo, just like you would normally hear it in real life. The unit is powered by four 1.5 volts AAA batteries which are good for about 200 hrs of use. One of the famous brands that most law enforcement, military and shooters favored is Peltor which is manufactured by 3M. They have a complete line of hearing protection from simple earplug and earmuff to a more sophisticated electronic head phones.

Basic Facts about Sound and Noise

Sounds are vibrations that move through substances like air and water as sound waves. All sounds have two characteristics, the amplitude which determines the loudness of the sound and the frequency which determines the tone or pitch of the sound. Loudness is referred to as sound level or sound intensity that is measured in Decibels (dB). A whisper has a sound about 20 dB, normal conversational speech is around 60 dB and a pneumatic drill is commonly over 110 dB. Discomfort occurs at about 120 dB and pain can be felt at around 120 dB.