Protect your hearing as you age

General information, not medical advice. If you notice you are hearing less well or have persistent ringing in your ears, talk to your GP.

To protect your hearing, it helps to know how much noise your ears can handle. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 430 million people worldwide need rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss, meaning a loss of more than 35 decibels (dB, the unit used to measure how loud a sound is) in the better hearing ear. Among people over 60, more than 25% have hearing loss of this kind. By 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing loss.

How loudness and duration add up

Ringing in your ears after a concert often fades, but with repeated exposure to loud sound, the WHO says the sensory cells in your ears can be permanently damaged. The louder the sound, the shorter the time you can listen safely:

Sound level	Example	Safe listening time per week
80 dB	doorbell	up to 40 hours
85 dB	heavy traffic (inside a car)	12 hours 30 minutes
90 dB	shouting	4 hours
95 dB	motorcycle	1 hour 15 minutes
100 dB	hair dryer	20 minutes

A normal conversation is around 60 dB. If you have to raise your voice to be heard by someone an arm’s length away, the WHO says the sound is too loud.

Protect your hearing with music, nights out and noisy work

With headphones or earbuds, the WHO advises keeping the volume at no more than 60% of the maximum. Well-fitted, noise-cancelling headphones help you avoid turning the volume up in noisy surroundings. At a concert or club, keep your distance from the loudspeakers, wear earplugs and give your ears 10 minutes of rest in a quiet spot after every hour. Around noisy machinery, the WHO recommends earplugs or earmuffs.

An older woman turns down the volume on her phone to protect her hearing while a neighbour shows her the volume limit setting

Signs that your hearing is declining

The WHO lists these signs of hearing loss: persistent ringing in the ears (tinnitus), difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds such as birdsong or an alarm clock, difficulty understanding speech, especially on the phone, and difficulty following conversations in noisy places, such as a restaurant or a party. If that sounds familiar, have your hearing tested or do a first check with the hearWHO app.

A man cups his hand behind his ear in a busy restaurant, a warning sign that it is time to protect your hearing and get it tested

If you can no longer follow the conversation in a busy restaurant, you may start skipping dinners with friends. According to the WHO, untreated hearing loss can lead to social isolation and loneliness in this way, while social contact matters for your health as you get older.

Getting a hearing aid in Belgium

According to Belgium’s national health insurance institute RIZIV/INAMI, your health insurance fund (ziekenfonds or mutualité) contributes to the cost of a hearing aid if your hearing loss is at least 35 dB in the ear you want the device for and the device gives you a hearing gain of at least 5 dB. The device must also be on the official list and bought from a recognised audiologist (audicien), the professional who fits and adjusts hearing aids.

An audiologist adjusts a hearing aid for an older woman who wants to protect her hearing and follow conversations more easily

You start with an ENT doctor (ear, nose and throat specialist), who tests your hearing. The audiologist then lets you try a first hearing aid for at least 28 calendar days, after which the medical adviser of your health insurance fund reviews the application.

Hearing and dementia: what research says

In 2024, the Lancet Commission on dementia estimated that 14 modifiable risk factors together account for nearly half of dementia cases, which could theoretically be prevented or delayed. Hearing loss and high LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) in midlife carry the largest share, at 7% each. The Commission calls for hearing aids to be made accessible and for harmful noise exposure to be reduced.

Whether a hearing aid slows down the decline in thinking skills is less clear. In the ACHIEVE study, 977 Americans aged 70 to 84 with untreated hearing loss were randomly assigned to hearing aids with counselling or to health education. After 3 years, there was no difference in cognitive decline (memory and thinking) in the group as a whole. In older adults at higher risk, decline may have been slowed.

A review of 31 studies included 8 long-term studies in which people who used a hearing aid had a 19% lower risk of long-term cognitive decline. Most of the studies were observational: researchers looked at what people chose to do themselves, without random assignment. A cause-and-effect link has therefore not been established.

According to the Lancet Commission, lowering dementia risk adds healthy years of life, and so more healthspan, the number of years you live in good health. In practice, protecting your hearing comes down to simple habits: turning the volume down, taking earplugs to concerts and giving your ears regular rest.