Tinnitus

What is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a sound that you can hear, but is not coming from your external environment. It is often described as a ringing in one or both of your ears, although it can be a buzzing, cracking, hissing, humming or clicking noise. It is unique to the individual and can be experienced for short periods of time, with the sound going away, or for some people, they live with Tinnitus all the time. 

What causes Tinnitus?

There are a number of causes of Tinnitus including:

• Age-related hearing loss
• Exposure to loud noise, which damages the small hairs in your inner ear, causing them to lose their ability to send sound signals to your brain 
• Menieres disease – a chronic ear condition affecting your balance and hearing
• Repeat ear infections
• Excessive Ear Wax
• Otosclerosis – a growth in your middle ear

How can Snugs help prevent Tinnitus?

Snugs Hearing Protection

1 in 4 people in the UK have Tinnitus due to exposure to loud noise (Tinnitus UK). Using ear protection in noisy environments is essential, whether this is at work, at a music festival, shooting or doing DIY at home. In fact, it is a legal requirement in the EU if you work in an environment with your ears exposed to over 85dB to provide workers with hearing protection – so make sure your employer is providing the correct PPE if your work environment is loud.

The Snugs hearing protection range includes:

• Work hearing protection for industrial and DIY noise
• Music hearing protection for live events
• Shooting hearing protection for gunsports and loud, sudden noise 
• Moto hearing protection to protect against wind and engine noise

These each have a specialised filter most suited to the particular noise environment. They will attenuate (reduce) the volume of the noise by a certain decibel rating, whilst still allowing you to hear. Unlike other hearing protection, you do not need to remove your Snugs from your ears to communicate with others, ensuring you are protected at all times.

By using custom fit hearing protection, you will prevent damage to your hearing and reduce the risk of Tinnitus.

SnugsPro custom earphone & IEM tips

Listening to music too loud through your earphones is another cause of hearing damage and Tinnitus. You may find yourself bumping up the volume to help remove background noise, or just because you like listening at a higher volume. Another community which use in-ears and headphones for many hours is gamers, with prolonged exposure to unsafe decibel levels.

By replacing the generic tips supplied with your earphones with ProMusic custom earphone and IEM tips, you achieve passive noise isolation. Snugs are designed to the second bend in your ear canal, providing the best possible seal; this ensures no sound bleed, so you’ll hear your music with clarity. You will find that the music now sounds louder, so you will need to lower the volume. This means you are adopting safer listening practices, without compromising on the sound experience.

ProMusic tips are available for over 250 different earphone and IEMs, you can view the list here.

Snugs AquaProtect swim plugs

Many people experience Tinnitus when they have an ear infection; if you are prone to repeat ear infections, and enjoy being in the water, make sure you use swim plugs to prevent water getting into your ears.

Snugs AquaProtect custom fit swim plugs provide a water tight canal seal to stop water getting in. The perfect fit ensures they do not move in your ears, whether you are doing tumble turns in the pool or are upside down in a kayak.

By investing in custom fit earplugs, you have a re-useable solution which is comfortable and an effective way of preventing Tinnitus.