Prolonged exposure to loud noise can be a major contributor to hearing loss. According to many experts, safe volumes are at or below 70 decibels (dB). For reference, a typical conversation usually stays around 60dB, a helicopter may be around 100db, and fireworks get up to 140db. 
Luckily, most of us don’t spend a lot of time around helicopters or jet engines (and if you do, you probably have appropriate ear protection). In fact, for many Americans, yardwork is a much bigger threat to your hearing. 

The Noise of Yardwork

One of the most common ways people find themselves in dangerously loud atmospheres is doing yardwork. Here are a few potentially dangerously loud yard tools you’ve probably used: 

• Gas-powered lawn mower: 85-100dB
• Electric lawn mower: 75-90dB
• Leaf blower: 70-100dB
• Pressure washer: 70-90dB
• Hedge trimmers: 105dB

 While some people opt to wear big over-the-head earmuffs like you’d see on construction sites or airport runways, there are a variety of other types of hearing protection available, including custom and over-the-counter earplugs. 
Plugging in your favorite earbuds and listening to some music or a podcast while you work is also a popular alternative. But do these types of headphones or earbuds provide enough protection to prevent potential hearing loss? 
The answer depends partially on whether your earbuds are noise canceling, and what kind of noise cancelling technology they use.

Active Noise Cancellation vs. Passive Noise Cancellation

Headphones with no noise cancellation technology are unlikely to help prevent hearing loss. Listening to loud music on headphones or earbuds to drown out the noise of power tools simply adds more noise and makes hearing loss more likely. 
Noise cancellation is a popular feature on many modern headphones and earbuds. The idea is to reduce the leakage of noise from the outside world while you have your earbuds in. However, when it comes to preventing hearing loss, not all noise-cancelling earbuds are created equal.

“Passive” noise-cancellation, or “noise isolation,” is usually nothing more than a design feature. Essentially, the only noise cancellation at work here is the same you’d get from common earplugs, although potentially not as effective. These headphones don’t have to be powered on or feature a built-in battery— they simply block out noise. Some noise may still reach your inner ears if these headphones aren’t well-designed or don’t fit your ears snugly.

 “Active” noise-cancellation is a much more high-tech solution. This technology takes advantage of the physics of sound. A miniature microphone built into the device monitors the ambient sounds of your surroundings. A chip within the headphones interprets this information and plays the opposite sound wave through the internal speakers of the headphones to cancel out the ambient sounds.

Which is Better for Ear Protection?

Ultimately, both can offer some protection for your ears. Well-fitted passive noise-cancelling earbuds and powered active noise-cancelling earbuds can prevent some outside noise from reaching your ear. 
But the most important step is still up to you. The whole point of noise-cancellation is to enable you to turn the volume down on the audio you’re listening to through headphones. 
We often crank up the sound to drown out external noises, especially when doing yardwork. Unfortunately, this just adds noise to the equation and increases the threat of hearing loss.  Listening at full volume through noise-cancelling headphones is still dangerous to your hearing.