Ear Protectors: an overview

Being sensitive to sound can make peoples’ day to day lifes exhausting, and even may exclude them from taking part in certain activities. Before I was diagnosed autistic I didn’t even realise that I was more sensitive to sound than most people. There is this idea we all have, that we are similar to those around us. And if they don’t have trouble, and I do, I am probably overreacting. But oversensitivity to sound is real, both in- and outside of the autistic population. So after diagnosis, I slowly realised I didn’t have to put up with those, sometimes hurtfull, but mostly energy draining noises. I am now the proud owner of a wide range of ear protectors that I use for different occasions.

In this article I will give an overview of the most important ear protector categories and talk about their advantages and disadvantages. If you are newly diagnosed or think you might have a condition that includes sensitivity to sound, this article might help you to select the ear protection that works best for your budget and usage.

My collection of ear protectors

A Note on Decibels

Loudness is measured in decibels. Decibel scales logaritmicaly. This logaritmic scale was chosen out of convenience, because the range of loudness that we and other animals can hear is so broad, that we would need both huge and very small values if we would be using a linear scale. Working with a logaritmicaly scaling value takes some time getting used to. For example, when the loudness increases by 3 dB, the power of the sound wave is doubled. When talking about ear protectors, atenuations we expect might be between 10 and 35 dB. This doesn’t sound like a broad range, but because decibel has a logaritmic scale, the difference between 10 and 35 is larger than we might guess from the numbers.

Sound doesn’t only have loudness (amplitude, power, intensity), it also has tone or frequency. Humans can hear frequencies from about 20 Hz (low tone) to about 20 kHz (high tone). Whereas for ear damage, the loudness is the determining factor, when talking about sound perception, the frequency also plays an important role. The majority of human speech for example is roughly between 100 Hz and 4 kHz.

Sound absorbing materials used in ear protectors have different attenuations for different frequencies. So if an ear protector only lists one attenuation value, this is an average over all frequencies within the hearing range. If you want to hear sounds with your ear protectors exactly the same way (but quieter) as without, you need ear protectors with linear atenuation. Products directed to music professionals typically have this property.

Ear Defenders (over ear)

passive ear defenders

These are the classical ear muffs you see people wear at a construction site for example. In a smaller version, they are also popular for taking kids to carnaval or concerts. Mine have a 30 dB noise reduction.

As they rely mainly on pressure for sealing off the inside of the cup from the outside, most of them press quite hard on the head. This can be problematic for those with tactile sensitivity, but also for people wearing glasses or when wearing them for longer periods of time. Some might press less hard than others, so try different ones if possible. The childrens’ versions also press less hard, so if you have a smallish head, those might be an option.

Another disadvantage of classic ear defenders is that they are quite visible and not very beautiful. Moreover, most people are not accustomed to seeing them being used outside really noisy environments. This might especially be a problem if you mind people looking at you strangely in public. To look a little bit less awkward, you could try and find a pair that looks more like headphones, but not many of them do. To make them less ugly, you could (spray)paint them. Also, defenders of the UK brand edz kidz have exchangable caps.

Despite those disadvantages, classic ear defenders also have some advantages, that make them worth considering. First of all they are cheap, especially compared to noise canceling headphones and custom made earplugs. Also, they don’t need batteries like noice canceling headphones do. And the fact that they are put over the ears makes it possible to combine them with earplugs for the most silent silence possible.

I must admit I barely ever take this type of ear muffs outside. I use them at home though, sometimes combined with in-ear earplugs, whenever I need complete silence. That means mostly when I am overloaded, in shutdown, or after a meltdown.

Noise canceling headphones

Noise canceling headphones are those headphones for listening to music, with the additional feature of electronically canceling noise. Like with any headphones, in-ear, on-ear and over-ear versions exist. The ones I have are Bose Quiet Comfort 25 over-ear headphones without bluetooth. Newer models with bluetooth exist, but the fact that they talk to you for giving you state information is an absolute no-go for me.

Noise canceling headphones have a microphone on the outside to measure noise from the environment. They then caculate an anti-sound to that, which they add to the music you are listening to. The small computer doing the calculations needs energy, and therefore noise canceling headphones require batteries. Of course you can also listen to music without noisecanceling (and thus without draining your headphone’s battery), or just use the noisecanceling without turning on your music.

The noisecanceling technique works especially well for noises that change slowly and are repetitive. The calculations are fast, but not endlessly fast, so with rapidly changing noises such as people talking, the noise canceling doesn’t work so well. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the one hand, it is very well possible to wear noise canceling headphones while talking to a person sitting next to you, on the other hand, the attenuation can be less than expected, depending on the kind of noise.

Another disadvantage of noise canceling headphones is their price, the better ones are quite expensive. That said, getting them was really a revelation for me. I’ve also met people who can’t get used to them though, so if you can, try before you buy!

I like to use my noise canceling headphones while working, but also when in busy environments such as restaurants or train stations. On top of that I’ve worn them for going to the movies, listening to conference talks or during conversations.

If you want to noise canceling headphone outside, it is good to know that, due to their not so aerodynamic form, they do amplify the sound of instead of reducing it.

Earplugs (in ear)

Classical earplugs

Classical earplugs come in a lot of different variations. There are the disposible foam ones you often get for free at concerts or festivals. Another type of earplugs is made of silicone. They may or may not include filters to filter specific frequencies better, or to provide a frequency independent linear attenuation. Then there are the moldable ones made from a kind of wax. You warm the wax in your hands so that it becomes moldable. Than you can form them and easily put them in your ear.

I might have especially small ear canals, but most classical earplugs either hurt me or don’t stay where they should stay. I use the moldable ones for sleeping though. And have a pair of Vibes which includes different cap sizes (small fits me acceptably comfortable) and has a linear filter, something I find makes it easier to communicate with people while wearing them.

The main advantage of classical earplugs is that they are cheap, and not so visible compared to earmuffs. The disadvantage for me is definitely their fit.

Customised earplugs

It took me a long time convince myself to get a pair of those. Mainly because getting them requires going to a place I’ve never been to, as well as talking to people I don’t know and letting them touch my head. But I finally got a pair made of soft silicone with exchangable filters. The filter I chose Is the strongest they had in the music/exchangable range, and filters 22 dB on average.

Customised earplugs with filters are great, but a bit expensive (which is problematic since plugs are easier to loose than a pair of noise canceling over ear headphones). They are much more comfortable than classical earplugs though, and therefore work much better for me. They are now replacing my noisecanceling headphones in a couple of situations where I am with other people. People are much less irritated and distracted by them than by the headphones.

The process of getting customised earplugs

Before I got an appointment, I went to 3 different shops to inquire. I asked about which filter they would recommend for my usecase, whether filters are exchangable, cost, materials, procedure. Be warned that even if I was just there for asking some questions, in 2 of 3 cases the audiologist wanted to look into my ears to see if my ears canals where not obstructed by impacted ear wax. I wasn’t really prepared to say no quick enough the first time it happened, and the second person didn’t even bother to ask (I didn’t go back there).

All places had both hard (acrylic) and soft (silicone) options, with at least part of the product range having exchangable filters. Prices where about the same everywhere so I went to the place that felt safest. I had someone call to make an appointment, but I probably could have done it by email as well (I had already included that I am autistic as part of my explanation of why I wanted the earplugs). The appointment lasted about half an hour. The audiologist took my contact data, and whent over the choices once more. I made my decision concerning the filter and color. Then she went on to explain the process of taking the ear imprint. This is how it went:

1. My ears where checked again. If you have long hair don’t want them to fiddle with it, it is better to bind it together beforehand.

2. A small piece of cotton wool was binded to a thread. The cotton was formed into a circular shape. This was repeated for the other ear.

3. a pair of tweezers was used to place the cotton wool into my ear. This would act as a barrier for the silicone that would come in later.

4. Then a silicone cartridge was placed into a pistol shaped handheld tool, and was pressed into my ear. I had been told to make chewing movements with my mouth to ensure that the silicone would fit better. The silicone felt slightly cold, and after a while started to make slight plopping noices as the hardening process set in. The hardening takes 4 to 5 minutes. I had both ears done simultaneously, but you could also have them separately.

   If you have silicone in both ears you don’t hear much anymore. Nevertheless the audiologist kept talking to me and asking me questions. If I would do it again I would ask them to not do that because it was overwhelming and I didn’t know how to react.

5. After the drying period of the silicone is over, it had to be taken out. The thread from the beginning is used for this as well as some pushing and pulling the ear around to get air in between the walls and the silicone.

6. After that it takes about 10 working days for the earplugs to be made.

Conclusion

Ear protection can be really helpful in day to day life when you are sensitive to sound. There are a lot of options but some of them are expensive. (Yes, it is a pitty that health/disability insurance doesn’t cover this kind of things, as far as I know.)

I hope this overview is helpful to those new to the topic. If there is anything missing, please let me know.