Whether you run a lawn mowing business or only mow your own lawn, it’s important to remember that a lawn mower is a powerful machine, capable of causing physical harm to yourself and/or others.

So, don’t try to be a superhero when it comes to health and safety. Wear protective clothing and shoes. Use sunscreen and wear protective eyewear. And most importantly, wear ear protection if you care about the long-term health of your hearing.

Ear protection

You won’t usually notice that you’re losing your hearing by mowing lawns and not wearing ear protection. It’ll happen over time. It’ll be gradual. Imagine listening to music and you turn it down just one notch. Not a very noticeable change. Repeat that one little notch 100 times and you’ll really notice it.

It doesn’t matter how old you are – sadly, once your natural hearing is gone, it’s gone for good and there’s no turning back the clock on mistakes made in the past.

Lawn mowing pros need to be particularly diligent, because if short bursts of lawn mowing noise can be harmful, what do you think happens to prolonged exposure to lawn mowing noise without ear protection?

Or worse, what if you’re wearing headphones but your iPod is blaring through them at a noise level above that of the lawn mower?

Hearing loss statistics

The Hearing Loss Association of America claims that 1 in 5 Americans suffer from hearing loss, with that figure increasing to 1 in 3 people from age 65. They also say that 60 percent of the people with hearing loss get that hearing loss from their work force or educational settings. This means that if you run a lawn mowing and gardening business as your main work activity, you’re in an even higher risk group for hearing loss.

In Australia and in the UK, 1 in 6 people suffer from hearing loss, with that figure predicted (in Australia at least) to rise to 1 in 4 people by 2050.

Take action now

So, don’t become another statistic. Take action now before it’s too late.

Wear ear protection when you’re mowing the lawn and preserve your precious hearing for the years to come.

Approximate sound levels (dB) for common types of noise exposure

Source: Figure by Australian Hearing, provided in DOHA, Submission 54, p.16 in this report to an Australian Parliamentary Committee.