The easiest way to protect yourself from hearing loss is to trust your ears. “Basically, if a sound seems too loud, it probably is,” says Amy Boyle, director of public education for the League for the Hard of Hearing.

If you can’t easily escape the clatter — say, you commute on a noisy subway or mow your lawn weekly — use either foam earplugs or ear muffs, those things that look like stereo headphones. (Cotton balls are useless, but plugging your ears temporarily — for instance, when you’re near a construction site — can be effective, says Lynn Luethke, Ph.D.)

Both earplugs and muffs have noise-reduction ratings on the package. Muffs, which fit over the ears and can reduce up to 30 decibels of noise, are good for when you’re using a power tool or you need intermittent protection. Plugs, which can reduce sound by as much as 33 decibels, are better for long periods of time, like at a concert or while you sleep.

MP3 players, such as iPods, are a major source of concern, though experts haven’t yet quantified exactly how much damage they can do. Advances in technology have probably made them more harmful. It used to be that you had to change a tape, a CD, and occasionally the batteries on an audio player, which limited the duration of the exposure. And some brands of cassette players had an automatic volume limiter that didn’t allow the music to go over 85 decibels. Most of today’s players not only lack that feature but also have rechargeable batteries, allowing you to cycle through music for hours on end. (Apple recently released free, downloadable software that can cap the volume on newer iPod models.) And having music piped directly into your ears through earbuds may do more damage to your hearing than headphones.

To minimize risk, set the volume in a quiet space, and don’t increase it as background noise becomes louder. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that you limit your time to one hour a day with a volume level no higher than 60 percent of the full capacity. Consider replacing earbuds with a pair of noise-canceling or sound-isolating headphones, which work with any device (cost: $40 to $300, depending on the size and quality). Besides transmitting sound, they reduce street and other background noise by up to 30 decibels, allowing you to keep the volume at a lower, safer level.

Whether you’re wearing earbuds or headphones, how can you tell if your music is too loud? If somebody near you can sing along to the lyrics, turn down the volume. Also, “if you turn off the music and hear ringing or have a dull, muffled feeling in your ears, it’s too loud,” says Luethke. Although you may have a similar sensation after a concert, you’re probably not heading back to another one within hours, which may not be true with an MP3 player.

Minimize extraneous noises at home by placing rubber mats under blenders (90 decibels) and other noisy kitchen appliances, installing double-glazed windows, and using carpets and curtains in rooms that are frequently exposed to outdoor noise such as garbage trucks and sirens.