Enjoy Your Favorite Summer Activities With Your Ears’ Best Friend: Earplugs

(Rockville, MD) Fireworks. Concerts and festivals. Sporting events. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), you can enjoy these and other noisy summer activities without risking permanent hearing damage through a simple, affordable, and widely available solution: earplugs.

As many as 40 million U.S. adults (24%) and 17% of teens (ages 12–19) may have some degree of hearing loss in one or both ears due to exposure to loud noise, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1 billion young people worldwide are at risk of hearing loss due to loud-noise exposure. The noise-induced hearing loss that can result is completely preventable. However, once it occurs, it is irreversible.

“You protect your skin with sunblock and your eyes with sunglasses, but your ear health is also in danger during many common summer activities,” stresses ASHA 2025 President Bernadette Mayfield-Clarke, PhD, CCC-SLP. “Our hearing is something we take for granted until we start to lose it. Take protecting your ears seriously so you can continue to fully appreciate the activities you love for many years to come.”

Here’s what you should know about earplugs, according to ASHA:

1. Basic earplugs work well for most people. You can pick up a foam pair of earplugs at most drug stores or from online retailers. If you attend loud events like concerts regularly, or play an instrument, musician’s earplugs are a good option because they allow you to hear most natural sounds. You can also get a custom pair from an audiologist.
2. There’s a technique to use them properly. Roll foam earplugs between your thumb and pointer finger. Lift your ear and put the foam plug in, allowing it to expand. This video offers a tutorial.
3. Young children should use well-fitting, “earmuff”-style hearing protection instead of earplugs. These safety earmuffs should cover the whole ear and not be loose. Make sure they’re comfortable so the child is less likely to remove them. Many earmuffs are available in fun colors or characters to make them more appealing to kids.
4. Earplugs don’t block out all noise—nor should they. You still want to be able to hear people talking to you or the music/entertainment you’re listening to—otherwise, you may take them out, negating the benefit. Also, make sure that you can hear safety warnings, emergency vehicle sirens, and other important auditory information. Test out your new earplugs when you get them.
5. You need other hearing protection measures, too. Although earplugs do offer very good protection, you should take other hearing protection steps such as

• • keeping your distance from loud noise sources (e.g., speakers or a concert stage);
  • stepping out of noisy environments for a few minutes every hour (i.e., taking “listening breaks”); and
  • heeding your body’s warnings of loud-noise danger (e.g., experiencing pain or ringing in the ears).

Earplugs are not only effective but extremely convenient to use. They’re lightweight and don’t take up a lot of room—even in your pocket. Mayfield-Clarke recommends keeping a few extra pairs of earplugs in your purse and car because you don’t always know when you’ll need them.

Most important, if you experience ringing, buzzing, or pain in your ears—or have trouble hearing—that persists into the next day after a loud event, contact an audiologist immediately for a hearing evaluation. You can find one near you at www.asha.org/profind.

About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 241,000 members, certificate holders, and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology assistants; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) identify, assess, and treat speech, language, and swallowing disorders.