If you are lucky enough to have some spare time, you most probably use this time to indulge in the things that you enjoy doing – AKA your hobbies. It’s good to have hobbies – everyone needs activities that they can rely on to help them relax and unwind – however, it’s important to ensure that your hobbies don’t affect your health, such as your hearing, for instance.

Did you know that certain hobbies can have a negative impact on your hearing health? Wondering why this is? It’s simple really – if a hobby is overly loud it can have an impact on your hearing health and could even lead to long-term damage. That’s why, if you have a hobby that involves being exposed to loud noises, it’s important that you protect your ears.

Here are four hobbies that ear protection is required for:

1. Carpentry

Carpentry might be a good skill to have and a great way to let off steam at the end of a busy week but if you aren’t careful it could have a negative impact on your health. Whether you enjoy upcycling old pieces of furniture or creating brand new ones if you are using loud pieces of machinery to help with your carpentry, you need to be wearing ear defenders or you could end up doing long-term damage.

2. Shooting

Is one of your favorite ways to spend your spare time going clay pigeon shooting? If you enjoy this kind of hobby, it’s a good idea to consider wearing ear defenders, as the sounds of gunshots can be particularly loud and can damage your hearing. In fact, even one loud gun shot could damage your hearing irreversibly, which is why it’s crucial that you always take ear safety seriously and protect your hearing.

3. Motorsports

Whether you watch motorsports or enjoy competing in them, you might want to consider getting yourself some earmuffs. Did you know that motorsports can create noise levels of over 100 dB – that’s a lot of noise. Plus, over the course of a race period, you could be exposed to that level of noise continuously, which is where the issues can start. Hence why wearing ear defenders to protect your hearing is so important.

4. Attending concerts or festivals

If music is your hobby of choice that’s amazing – music is a great way to let loose and relax. However, what it’s important to remember is that when you attend concerts and festivals it can be extremely loud. So loud in fact that you could end up with damaged hearing, especially if you are reguarly attending these kinds of events. That’s why you may want to consider investing in some sort of ear protection, to help keep your hearing healthy.

When it comes to your hearing, it’s important to remember that you only get one set of ears and once your hearing is damaged it can’t be fixed, which is why it’s so important that you look after your hearing even when doing your hobbies.