Summer Sound Safety: 5 Quick Tips to Protect Your Hearing

When summer gets loud, your ears—and your hearing aids—take the heat!

Fireworks crackle, mowers roar, and firefighting aircraft rumble overhead. Any of these can top 85 dB, the level where damage begins. Protect your hearing (and your investment in hearing technology) with these quick tips from Hear & There Audiology—we bring affordable care right to your doorstep or video screen.

1. Measure the moment

Download the free NIOSH Sound Level Meter (SLM) app and check the decibel reading before you decide on protection.

2. Pick the right protection

• Foam earplugs or earmuffs for fireworks or chainsaws. Remove hearing aids prior to hearing protection use.

• Musicians’ filters (12–16 dB) to keep concert music crisp yet safe. Aim for an NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) that brings the exposure below 80 dB.

  
  

3. Shield rechargeable aids from heat

Lithium-ion batteries and microphones can shut down at 95 °F. Keep your aids in a shaded, vented case and drop a desiccant puck inside overnight after sweaty activities.

4. Double-up during wildfire season

Air-tankers and chippers near active fires can hit 105–106 dB—enough to exceed safe limits in five minutes. Wear foam plugs + earmuffs if you’re within a half-mile of operations.

5. Dry your ears (and your hearing aids) after swimming

Water trapped in the ear canal invites bacteria and can lead to swimmer’s ear, a painful infection that also muffles sound. After every dip:

• Tilt-and-drain, then pat dry. Gently tug the earlobe in different directions so water runs out.

• Finish with cool air. Hold a hair-dryer on low, cool several inches from the ear if it still feels wet.

• Block splash before it starts. Custom swim plugs or a snug swim cap keep water out—ask our mobile team about ordering your own swim plugs.

• Remove hearing aids first. Even “water-resistant” models can fail if submerged. If they do get wet, power them off, open the battery door (or turn off rechargeables) and place the aids in a drying jar overnight.

Have lingering ringing from recent or past noise exposure?

Click here to schedule a comprehensive audiologic evaluation today! A full exam pinpoints the exact cause of your tinnitus or muffled hearing and gives us the data to tailor protection—or treatment—before summer’s sounds get any louder.

Need a deep clean? Try our nationwide Mail-In Hearing Device Tune-Up service.

References:

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2024). Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). (2024). Sound Level Meter App (iOS). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Oticon. (2023). SmartCharger miniRITE R – Instructions for Use. Oticon A/S.

• Shilling, E. (1999). Hearing Safety at Airtanker Bases. USDA Forest Service Technical Report 9957-1205.

• Broyles, G. et al. (2017). Noise exposure among federal wildland fire fighters. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 141(2).

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing Swimmer’s Ear. Healthy Swimming, May 28 2025.

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Swimmer’s Ear (Otitis Externa): How to Avoid It, 2024.