SoundGear Phantoms, Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, and Tinnitus

A high-pitched dental drill and suction shouldn’t drown out the most important sound in the room: a patient’s voice. Blaise Delfino sits down with Dr. Michael Walker (dentist) and Dr. Jamie Hand (audiologist) to unravel how modern hearing protection can quiet drills and suction without muting crucial communication, and why tinnitus may be the first warning sign long before a hearing test shows a shift. The result is a practical, evidence-informed guide for anyone working in a noisy environment.

First, we compare everyday foam or silicone plugs with active devices like SoundGear Phantoms. You’ll hear what changes chairside when the noise floor drops but speech is preserved: faster coordination with assistants, fewer breaks to de-glove, and smoother, safer procedures. We dig into real-world workflow differences across restorative and surgical cases, and how open-bay designs compound exposure when multiple tools run at once.

Next, we unpack fresh survey findings from hundreds of dentists that reveal a striking pattern: tinnitus reports are higher than expected even when self-reported hearing loss seems average. We explore why delayed testing and ultra-high-frequency damage can mask early decline, making tinnitus a critical cue for prevention. From cumulative exposure science to the limits of standard audiometry, we outline what professionals should watch for and how to act sooner.

Finally, we get tactical. We talk fit, comfort, and hygiene, and lay out when to choose active hearing protection for continuous communication versus passive, high‑fidelity options or semi-insert bands for assistants on the move. We also highlight a culture shift in training: pairing dental and audiology programs to normalize protection, teach proper fitting, and make hearing health part of everyday PPE.

If you practice in a noisy clinic—or care about someone who does—this is your playbook for protecting hearing without sacrificing clarity or care. Listen, subscribe, and leave a review with your biggest question about workplace noise or tinnitus so we can tackle it next.

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Transcript

Setting The Stage: Noise At The Dentist

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS 0:00

This is the Friday Audiogram. Let's go. Tell me what your experience has been like wearing the sound gear phantoms while working with the drill and the suction.

From Earplugs To Phantoms

Dr. Michael Walker 0:12

To back up a little bit, the the ear plugs really that I was uh used to wearing um definitely worked in a total different fashion, right? It's basically just blocking out some part of the the noise and just reducing that you know high frequency uh transmission. Um but with the Phantoms, you know, not blocking the communication has been amazing. Um a little bit of adjusting, just kind of getting used to wearing a different device. But how cool is it that it's almost cutting out the noise completely of the handpiece and the suction, but I can hear the patient just fine, I can hear my assistant just fine. It actually, you know, increases that volume a little bit so I can hear them better without a doubt, than with wearing my plugs and just kind of blocking everything. And yeah, I could still communicate, but it definitely was not as clear as wearing the phantoms.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS 1:09

Let me ask you, from a communication standpoint, you can actually because usually when we all go to dentists, they have the tools in our mouth and they're trying to talk to us, Michael. So now what you're saying is you can hear our mumbles a little bit clearer.

Dr. Michael Walker 1:21

A little bit there. And you know, it it is the communication with the assistant is very important, as you can imagine, through you know, any procedure for that matter. But there's also checking in with the patient and giving them a break here and there and stuff like that. And, you know, to ask that question and say, oh, hold on, let me de-glove, let me take this out or something. I want to, you know, what were you saying again? I don't have to do that anymore. I can literally just, you know, give them a break, ask a simple question and hear them just fine and get right back to work.

Workflow, Sanitation, And Wear Time

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS 1:50

Well, you mentioned de-glove because that's that's a whole like disinfection and sanitation aspect where your sound gear phantoms are in your ears. How how many hours per day would you say that you are practicing with them and working with patients with them? Yeah.

Survey Design And Tinnitus Findings

Dr. Michael Walker 2:08

Yeah. It's definitely uh procedure dependent. You know, um, for any restorative procedure, I'm typically wearing them um because I have the handpiece going, the suction, so on. Um, we do a decent amount of surgery at the office, and there's not quite that high frequency, you know, tools being used depending on what we're doing. Um, so you know, it it certainly varies by the day. Case by case. Case by case for sure.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS 2:29

Michael, we're going to touch a little bit on tinnitus with Dr. Hand. So, Jamie, let's talk tinnitus for a little bit. One of the most striking findings in your research was that tinnitus prevalence was actually higher than expected, even though measured hearing loss looked fairly average. As a hearing care professional, how should we interpret that?

Dr. Jamie Hand 2:50

Yeah, so on top of the noise measurements, um, Dr. Fruits was a part of the Oklahoma Dental Association and had the mailing list. So we are able to get a grant to get the prepaid postage that we could put both to send it, but that also encouraged them to send back the survey. Mailed that out to over 300 Oklahoma dentists and almost 400. And we got a 36% response rate, which is unheard of in surveys. So that also shows me that I think dentists are really interested in this. You know, they're all in it every day. They're all annoyed by the sounds, probably. So I think it's a topic that is ripe to be explored because they know they're in noisy environments every day. Anyway, so this was a part of the survey. And we just simply asked, you know, do you have diagnosed hearing loss? And so that is a weakness in the in the study. We weren't able to actually measure their hearing loss. I think if we were, we probably would have found more than was recorded. As we all know, as hearing professionals, it takes seven years sometimes for people to have their hearing loss to actually get it measured, to actually then get it treated. So I think there is a gap here in the data, which is why that tinnitus, we all know, is oftentimes a symptom of uh hearing loss. So I believe that's why it was louder. Also, you know, when tinnitus practice, there is the ultra high frequencies that are impacted first that can cause that tinnitus. So if they haven't had that done, which is, you know, more rare to have in practices, I think it's becoming a little more common as people dive into more tinnitus treatment. But it could be also that it's still in those ultra high frequencies, hasn't quite crept down into that audiometric range yet.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS 4:33

Jamie, regarding the mailer that you sent out, the data you collected was self-reported hearing loss. But what I found so interesting in this research was that the majority of those who did report as having self-reported hearing loss, 28.5% of the participants were aged 50 to 59, okay, which is our target demographic. And ages 60 to 69, 40.8% had uh reported self-reported hearing loss. Jamie, what are what are those numbers telling us? Because it really does parallel what we're seeing in the industry today.

Dr. Jamie Hand 5:11

Yeah, I mean, those are kind of target demos, you know, it's it's that's the population. And when we compared it to those eight ranges with the general population, that's really where the comparison data was in line. It wasn't statistically significant a difference, or it was in line with the general population. So that's what kind of showed us that, oh, it didn't seem like hearing loss was running rampant in dentists. But again, I still have that itch in the back of my brain that again the tinnitus self-reports are telling us a little different story. And we didn't ask, have you been seen for a hearing evaluation? It was just, do you have hearing loss? So I think if I could do it again, that was would be one little.

Cumulative Exposure Versus Peak Events

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS 5:58

Dr. Han, from the data, we really do talk about exposure over time. And we've touched on that a little bit. Of course, Michael, you're wearing your sound gear phantoms uh case by case, but I love to hear that you are wearing them when you're using the drill and the suction uh at the same time, or even just solo. But Jamie, with dentists in general, is this more so peak events or you know, cumulative daily exposure over the years of practice? Because there are some practices, Michael, like yours, that do have an open concept plan. So you can have drills and suction working at the same time. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Training, Culture, And Adoption

Dr. Jamie Hand 6:40

I mean, that's definitely the it's a compound effect over years. You know, it's I think we've all experienced a single noisy event, a concert is usually what happens where you have that temporary threshold shift and three days later you're you're kind of back to normal. And that certainly causes damage. But as long as it's, you know, those one events every now and then, we're all kind of okay. But when you're exposed to that every day, that just takes a beating on your hair cells. And really, I'm so pleased to hear that Michael wears hearing protection. I think there was one respondent from the survey that said they wore hearing protection when I asked. So I'm hoping that maybe the younger generation is more in tune with preventative care. And maybe, like he said, he heard it from one of his professors. If we can really get in on the ground level, you know, in dental school. And I know at the University of Oklahoma, I mean, the College of Allied Health where I was was right across the street from the dental school. And so just those cross collaborations on those medical campuses to say, like, hey, we have audiology students, hey, we have dental students. We need to practice taking ear mold impressions. Like, how can we work together to get your dental students? Just even, you know, simple pull-in, pull out earplugs would help. But I know Michael has been wearing much more fun.

Blaise M. Delfino, M.S. - HIS 8:02

So, Dr. Han, given all of this research in your clinical recommendation, phantoms will cost more than solid silicone plugs. What is the best option here for our dentists? Like, is it is it the active hearing protection, is it the passive hearing protection? What is the best product to utilize based on your findings, but also your clinical recommendation?

Dr. Jamie Hand 8:26

I mean, the best product I think, as we've all seen in dental practices, you know, being the patient in my experience, there's a lot of talking going on. You know, it's it's a drill and then it's a hey, I need this, or a note to the assistant, or, you know, whatever. And so there's that communication that still needs to be happening, which is where that active hearing protection really plays a role. You know, as the sound goes down, boop, the mics are picking it up. He doesn't have to reach up and touch and remove and insert and remove and insert. Well, that's certainly an option. And that's, I think, my recommendation in the study was just those semi insert earplugs that we've all seen. I think mowing especially is what people use them for. You know, they hang around your neck and those are fine. That's great. I think, especially for maybe an assistant that's in and out.