Helmets protect our heads from injuries. Safety glasses protect our eyesight.
Audiologists are noticing that a number of individuals want to protect another one of their five senses: sound.
After all, we live in a noisy environment that includes construction, jets, motorcycles, sporting events and concerts.
But protecting one's hearing from serious hearing loss is much more than just sticking some cotton in your ears or buying a pair of ear plugs at a major retailer. Healthcare professionals maintain that the best protection for your ears should be custom-made.
According to audiologist Kathy Rizk of Ear, Nose and Throat Hearing Services, ear protection equipment is important for a variety of publics.
"We create a lot of swim molds for kids and a lot of molds for musicians, hunters and employees who need protection in the workplace," she said. "We also create impressions for hearing aids."
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Of the 20 to 30 impressions that are taken each week, swim molds are No. 1, Rizk said. Kids particularly like the color choices available.
"A lot of children who've had surgery and have tubes are who we are fitting for the ear molds," she said. "And it's important those be custom fit and tight so the water doesn't leak in and lead to ear infections."
Are you listening?
After swimming molds is a variety of other uses, Rizk said.
"For example, we've done ear protection for employees of Interbake Foods that include a vinyl cord so the mold can hang around the neck when not in use," she said. "We've also made these for federal agents who use walkie-talkies in their work and need an ear piece."
But it's not all about the workplace. Many musicians have learned to appreciate taking care of their hearing while jivin' or shakin' with their music. The volume of a typical rock concert measures 115 to 120 decibels - more than a chain saw, but not much less than a jet engine, Rizk said. Yet conventional earplugs muffle and distort sound.
"There's no doubt high levels of sound can damage hearing," she said. "Musicians or those who want to listen to music want the ability to control the sound. They want to her, but they want to filter out the volume. so there's no damage to the ear."
Rizk said she's seen an increase in the ear molds from hunters, to protect them from the gunshot noise.
"Ear muffs will protect shooters at a range, but they don't work well in the field," she observed. "Custom-fit earplugs are lightweight and far more protection against the high decibels of a gunshot."
Helmets may protect motorcyclists in an accident, but they do little to reduce the noise level while riding, Rizk said.
"Baby Boomers are buying motorcycles and enjoy taking them on long distance trips," she said. "They realize quickly the need for the protection, from the excessive noise, that's designed specifically for the environment."
Hearing instruments
Custom ear molds have become very important for those with actual hearing loss who need a hearing aid, Rizk said.
"They want that feedback eliminated that will often occur if a hearing aid isn't custom made and they want the device to be comfortable," she said.
Again, for Baby Boomers, hearing support is no longer seen as some type of disability or aspect of old age, Rizk said.
"People are more social today than ever before and they don't want to be left out of conversations," she said. "I've noticed younger and younger people coming in and asking for amplification."
In addition to the socialization aspect, more people are remaining in the workplace where their need to hear is important, Rizk pointed out.
"Hearing needs are far more complex in the workplace," she observed. "You have supervisors and co-workers and the public and you have to be able to hear them."
A change that audiologist Mike Sloniker has seen in his 17 years in the business is the technology that has changed - not only in creating the mold but for what purposes the mold is used.
"When I started out in the business, we used a powder and liquid mix that you had to stir like the folks do at an ice cream place, like Cold Stone Creamery," he said. "It was difficult to place into an ear and then you'd end up with a great impression of the ear bowl, but not so much the ear canal. The material we use now is just so much better."
New technology
Cell phones have transformed how we communicate with others and that includes the use of a custom ear mold for a head set or a Blue Tooth, Sloniker said.
"Manufacturers are creating custom ear molds for almost any hands-free headset," he said. "This is terrific for folks who are on the phone a lot."
The ear mold is custom-fit to fit every bump and curve of a person's ear canal, because your ear canal is like your fingerprint - unique (see explanation). The mold is sent to a manufacturer that specializes in custom ear molds. The turn-around time is a week and Rizk said it's very rare the mold doesn't fit and needs to be returned.
"It might be too tight," she speculated as the non-fit reason. "Remember we're working with cartilage in the ear that will stretch - not a bone that doesn't give."
Once you have the ear mold, it literally will last for years, Rizk said.
"Although I would recommend children with swimming ear molds be refit every year," she suggested. "Kids grow and the device may not fit as snug the next year."
Sloniker predicted great strides in the future for the creation of ear molds.
"There's manufacturers right now that can have you place the ear mold on a box that will scan the mold and send the image directly to them, eliminating much of the turn-around time to get the mold and the handling of it," he said. "I'm thinking that will be the way we handle the molds in the next few years."
The swimming ear molds run just under $40 and depending on the complexity of the adult ear molds, that cost is $80 to $150. Few insurance companies will reimburse for ear molds, although many employers will pay for the protection, Rizk said.
"We're all about preserving the hearing and not so much about fixing it after the fact," she stressed. "It's about preventative care and more people are realizing that."
