How to Love Your Ears

Who says that you can't love both rock music and your ears? Do you know that 3 out of 4 members of Metallica actually wear ear plugs during concert? Lars Ulrich of Metallica said that they do this to preserve their ears for 5-10 years more. This is because, unlike the bones in our body and our skin, neuronal fibers in the ears can never regenerate and fix themselves. How will they be able to make more music if they have damaged ears?

The Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (HEAR), which was founded by rock musicians with damaged ears, recommend some helpful tips to take care of your ears:

1. Collaborate with your employer for a company policy to protect employee's ears and to minimize noise in work setting, especially for those who work in mechanical areas and endure high-decibel sound waves for 8 hours every day. But don't take the noise of the photocopying machine and shredder for granted either. Even if they don't pose significant danger to your ears, the noise they make is often distracting and disturbing, and can sometimes lead to non-productivity. Talk to your employer to put all these machines together in one place, and if possible, away from "thinking" employees.
2. Use earmuffs and earplugs when using power equipments. We sometimes see shooters use these for practice, and they cost barely a dollar. Not only can you carry them around, they offer the most efficient method for reducing air vibrations to your ears.
3. Regularly test hearing capacity with a hearing specialist, especially for those people who usually listen to loud music. This is because ear damage often results from a vicious cycle, where loud music leads to damaged ears, damaged ears lead to louder music, and louder music leads to even more damage in ears. Regular hearing tests can alert you of possible hearing damage and can even stop it from getting worse.