There are programs that seek to increase compliance and therefore effectiveness of hearing protection rules; the programs include the use of hearing tests and educating people that loud sound is dangerousEmployees are required to wear hearing protection when it is identified that their eight-hour time weighted average (TWA) is above the exposure action value of 90 dB. If subsequent monitoring shows that 85 dB is not surpassed for an eight-hour TWA, the employee is no longer required to wear hearing protection.In the European Union, directive 2003/10/EC mandates that employers shall provide hearing protection at noise levels exceeding 80 dB(A), and that hearing protection is mandatory for noise levels exceeding 85 dB(A). Both values are based on 8 hours per day, with a 3 dB exchange rate. A 2017 Cochrane review found low-quality evidence that legislation to reduce noise in the workplace was successful in reducing exposure both immediately and long-term. Sporting events
Several sports stadiums pride themselves in having louder stadiums than their opponents because it may create a more difficult environment for opposing teams to play in. Currently, there are few studies on noise in sports stadiums, but some preliminary measurements show noise levels reaching 120 dB, and informal studies suggest that people may receive up to a 117% noise dose in one game. There are many challenges that face hearing conservationists such as sports culture.
Along the same line of research, higher dietary or supplemental intakes of magnesium combined with antioxidant vitamins, specifically β-carotene and vitamin C, appear to be associated with a lower risk of hearing loss. Consuming excessive amounts of magnesium can be potentially harmful, so any treatments should be followed with caution.Tentative research in a mouse model suggests that blocking the GluA2-lacking, calcium-permeable forms of the AMPA receptor protects against hearing damage. Sound or stress training
Despite different people having different thresholds for what noises are painful, this pain threshold has no correlation with which noises cause hearing damage. The ear can not get more resistant to noise harmfulness by training it to noise. The cochlea is partially protected by the acoustic reflex, but being frequently exposed to noise does not lower the reflex threshold. It had been observed that noise conditioning (i.e. exposure to loud non-traumatizing noise) several hours prior to the exposure to traumatizing sound level, significantly reduced the damages inflicted to the hair-cells. The same "protective effect" was also observed with other stressors such as heat-shock conditioning and stress (by restraint) conditioning. This "protective effect" only happens if the traumatizing noise is presented within an optimum interval of time after the sound-conditioning session (-24 hours for a 15 min. sound-conditioning; no more protection after 48 hours). This "protective effect" had long been thought to involve the active mechanisms of the outer hair cells and the efferent system commanding them.