How Can Farmers Protect Their Hearing Around Loud Equipment?
Tractors, grain dryers and squealing pigs can be loud enough to harm hearing. Here is how farmers can protect their ears with comfortable custom earplugs.
Farmers can protect their hearing by wearing protection every time the loud equipment runs, keeping it within arm’s reach of every machine, and choosing plugs comfortable enough to wear for a full day. Tractors without cabs, grain dryers, squealing pigs and chainsaws can all reach levels where a full day’s worth of noise is used up in minutes, not hours. Custom earplugs help because they fit your ears, stay comfortable under a cap and are easy to keep in a shirt pocket.
Quick answer
- The risk: NIDCD says long or repeated exposure at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss, and many farm jobs run well above that.
- Loudest jobs: a University of Iowa farm safety fact sheet lists tractors and combines without cabs and grain dryers at 105 dB, and chainsaws at 115 dB.
- What helps most: protection that’s handy and comfortable enough to stay in. NIOSH calls comfort “the key to consistent use.”
- Extra margin: NIOSH suggests earmuffs over earplugs at 100 dBA or more.
- Ringing that sticks around? See a doctor or audiologist.
How loud is farm work, really?
Louder than it feels after years of doing it. The Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health at the University of Iowa College of Public Health publishes a fact sheet, Hearing Loss Among Farmers and Agricultural Workers, with typical sound levels around the farm. It also lists the most time per day someone could be around each one without hearing protection.
| Sound level | Examples on the farm | Most time per day without protection |
|---|---|---|
| 90 dB | ATV, push lawn mower | 2.5 hours |
| 92 dB | Enclosed cab tractor or combine, grain auger | 95 minutes |
| 95 dB | Air compressor | 47 minutes |
| 100 dB | Pigs squealing, table saw, irrigation pump | 15 minutes |
| 102 dB | Riding lawnmower, pressure washer | 9 minutes |
| 105 dB | Tractor or combine with no cab, grain dryer | 4 minutes |
| 115 dB | Chainsaw | Under 1 minute |
Look at how short those times get. A morning on an open tractor or an afternoon by the grain dryer adds up fast. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) says sounds at or below 70 dBA are unlikely to cause hearing loss, while long or repeated exposure at or above 85 dBA can (NIDCD).
A simple field check from NIOSH’s guide for farm families: if you have to raise your voice to be heard an arm’s length away, the noise is probably loud enough to damage your hearing (NIOSH, Have You Heard? Hearing Loss Caused by Farm Noise is Preventable).
Do farmers really lose more hearing?
The research says yes. A study in Public Health Reports compared farmers whose only noise exposure came from farming with people of the same age who had no significant noise exposure. The farmers had significantly poorer hearing (Plakke and Dare, 1992).
NIOSH puts it in terms any farm family will remember: “A 25-year-old farmer can often have the ears of a 50-year-old” who isn’t exposed to noise, and may not even know it (NIOSH 2007-176).
The University of Iowa fact sheet also summarizes studies linking hearing loss on the farm with years of grain dryer use, years of hunting with guns, and driving tractors without cabs. Noise-induced hearing loss usually creeps in slowly. NIDCD notes that sounds may become distorted or muffled over time, and that loud noise can also cause tinnitus, a ringing, buzzing or roaring in the ears.
Why doesn’t hearing protection get worn on the farm?
Often it simply isn’t there when the engine starts. Among 532 farmers in the upper Midwest, the Iowa fact sheet reports that 57% had ever used hearing protection, and having protectors available was strongly linked with using them.
NIOSH’s brochure for young farmers, They’re Your Ears: Protect Them, suggests stashing earplugs in your pockets each morning with your phone and keys, and hanging muffs or canal caps on the tractor steering wheel, combine and lawn mower. The Iowa fact sheet adds marking high-noise areas and keeping protection near noisy equipment.
Comfort is the other half. NIOSH notes that earmuffs are heavier than earplugs and may be uncomfortable in warm places, which is a real issue on a July afternoon. NIOSH also warns against overprotection, because too much sound reduction can make people less aware of their surroundings. Its target is just enough reduction to bring exposure down to 75–85 dBA (NIOSH, Provide Hearing Protection). On a farm, hearing an animal, a person calling or a machine changing pitch matters.
Which hearing protection fits farm work best?
Different jobs call for different levels. Here’s a practical way to match them.
| Farm task | Protection to consider | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Closed-cab tractor or combine, ATV, auger | Comfortable earplugs worn the whole shift | Steady noise for hours; comfort keeps them in |
| Hog barn, irrigation pump, pressure washer | Earmuffs over earplugs | 100–102 dB in the Iowa table; NIOSH suggests doubling up at 100 dBA or more |
| Open-cab tractor, grain dryer, chainsaw | Earmuffs over earplugs, and limit time near the source | 105–115 dB in the Iowa table |
| Shop work with grinders and saws | Earplugs plus muffs for the loudest tools | Short bursts that still add up |
Fit matters as much as the type. NIOSH’s farm guide points out that not every earplug fits every ear, and you may even need a different size for each ear. It also offers a quick check: with a good fit, your own voice should sound about the same as you cup and uncup your hands over your ears.
How does Big Ear help farmers protect their hearing?
We hand-build custom earplugs in the USA from impressions of your own ears. NIOSH describes custom plugs as devices made from an impression of the wearer’s ear, uniquely fitted to that person, and notes they are more durable than formable or preformed earplugs. That makes them easy to keep on you every day.
For the loudest jobs, our Guardian Vanquisher ($179.95) has an NRR of 37 dB in a semi-soft silicone (Shore A 45). Wear earmuffs over it for the grain dryer, the hog barn or the chainsaw. If you want to keep hearing what’s around you in very loud work, look at the Guardian Max ($149.95), a specialty industrial plug.
For long days in the cab, our Full Stop Super-Soft ($168.95) has an NRR of 32 dB and is made from soft platinum-cure silicone (Shore A 25). It’s hypoallergenic and antibacterial, and we make it for adults and children, so younger helpers can have a pair too.
Want one pair you can adjust? The One uses interchangeable flat filters of 9, 15, 20, 25 or 30 dB, with an NRR of 25 dB with one filter installed. Lighter filters suit quieter chores; for loud machinery, call us and we’ll help you pick filter levels for your equipment. Kits run $224.95 (Standard), $299.95 (Select, two filter sets) and $574.95 (Premium, all five).
Every pair comes with our 30-Day Fit Warranty and a 1-year manufacturer defect warranty against manufacturing defects (loss isn’t covered). For crews, our post on setting up custom hearing protection for a team walks through the steps, and our industrial hearing protection page shows the full Guardian line.
How do you get fitted without leaving the farm?
Your order includes a free Home Impression Kit. It arrives in 3 to 5 business days, and making the impressions takes about 15 to 20 minutes at home with a helper and a guided video. Return postage is paid, and if an impression can’t be used, we send a second kit free.
Allow 40 business days from the day your impressions reach our lab for us to build and ship your plugs, and order shipping is $10. We keep impressions on file for up to ten years, so a replacement pair later doesn’t mean starting over.
Farm hearing protection questions
Is a closed cab enough on its own?
Not always. The Iowa fact sheet lists an enclosed cab tractor or combine at 92 dB, with about 95 minutes a day before protection is needed. Cabs help, and NIOSH’s young-farmer brochure suggests keeping cab doors and windows closed, but long days still call for earplugs.
How do I know if a job is too loud?
If you need to raise your voice to be heard at arm’s length, or your ears ring afterward, treat it as too loud. The Iowa fact sheet uses the same signs.
Can I wear earplugs under a cap or with safety glasses?
Yes. NIOSH’s farm guide notes that if you wear glasses or have facial hair, earplugs may fit and seal better than earmuffs.
What about the kids who help with chores?
Children’s ears need protection around the same machines. The Full Stop Super-Soft is made for children as well as adults. Our post on protecting kids’ hearing has more ideas.
When should I see a professional?
If ringing is new, getting worse or won’t go away, or you have ear pain or notice a sudden change in hearing, see a doctor or audiologist.
Ready to keep your hearing for the long haul?
Start with our free Home Impression Kit, or use Find my pair to match plugs to your work. You can also call us at (719) 271-4528 and tell us what you run. We’ll help you choose.
Sources
- Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health, University of Iowa College of Public Health. Hearing Loss Among Farmers and Agricultural Workers (revised January 2014).
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Have You Heard? Hearing Loss Caused by Farm Noise is Preventable. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007-176, September 2007 (publication page).
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. They’re Your Ears: Protect Them. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007-175, October 2007 (publication page).
- Plakke BL, Dare E. Occupational hearing loss in farmers. Public Health Reports. 1992;107(2):188–192.
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (updated 16 April 2025).
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Provide Hearing Protection (reviewed 31 January 2024).
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