Hearing Protection - Use it or not?

[peter halle]

I have been thinking about this for a while and was just wondering.  No right or wrong answers, no tool usage police.  Just wondering  [big grin] [big grin].

Peter

 

[builderbob]

What's that?  I can't hear you!  At least that's my well versed response to my lovely wife! 

I do wear hearing protection. Usually just the foam ones that squish into my ears. I don't run impact guns anymore, so it's usually just when I'm running power tools!

Bob

 

[RonMiller]

I determined that if I found a comfortable pair of plugs that could easily be taken in and out and weighed almost nothing, I'd use them all the time. The Howard Leight Hearing Band (I get mine through McFeeleys) has solved that for me for several years. They very comfortable, sit around my neck and I forget they are there.

There's a young framer in town who's almost lost alot of his hearing from using a nail gun next to his ear. Earplugs look better than a hearing aid to me.

 

[barnowl]

 

[Stone Message]

I do not use ear protection with any of my Festool tools but always wear my ear muffs when planing, using my awful table saw or my bandsaw.

My hearing is really bad due to an accident many years ago but it is important to continue to wear ear protection even if you have hearing loss.

Peter

 

[Kev]

I tend to seek out quiet tools and equipment and as I'm DIY/hobby, I'm in control of the noise levels I work in. If I was working on a site I would use some form of protection because of the prolonged effect.

In the garden I use 4 stroke gear because it's quieter and wearing muffs on a warm day is horrible.

If I ever do get a bandsaw I would definitely have a visor/muff combo hanging next to it.

 

[AlexThePalex]

No right or wrong answers? Wait till you get hearing damage.

I use them all the time. I like power tools but I just hate the damn noise they make. I don't see why mufflers would be an inconvenience. I often find I still have mine on 10 minutes after I turned off the tool. Just forgot about them while I went on with my work.

 

[Deansocial]

didnt used to much but starting to wear them more and more. i find more you wear them the more the noises hurt you ears when not wearing them so you wear them more. i wish more emphasis had been put on this when i was leaning as i would find it second nature then. I'm 28 and get a slight ringing in my ears already so trying to reduce the further damage

 

[nydesign]

sometimes. My planer is really the only tool that makes too much noise.

 

[tbellemare]

I don't see why mufflers would be an inconvenience.

They wouldn't in The Netherlands except for maybe 2 weeks out of the typical year. Here, they get pretty wet about half the year but I wear them anyway.

Tom

 

[tiralie]

Definitely!
Just the foam insert type, particularly when I running any tool for extended time. Not all the time though. I am going to buy some Peltor 6-S
When I was mining I used the foam ear plugs cause we ran the drills all day. Did protect my hearing.
I am sure I did more damage with the volume turned up too loud on on my headphones while listening to music.
I have been to a few live concerts that have left my ears ringing the day after which can't be good either.
Youth, definitely wasted on the young.
Tim

 

[Theshipstore]

I use them for my shaper tables and surface planer, as they are real loud and after awhile it does have an affect on my working.
I have not used them with any of my festool toys there seems no real need in my opinion with them.
I have found that after my bout with Bell's Palsy my hearing is really effected by loud high pitch sounds

Sal

 

[GhostFist]

like Tim, I'm a rocker, left my self deaf and stupid jumping up and down next to full volume amplifiers. In the shop i use hearing protection when working with something particularly loud, such as heavy routing . I was using a noise cancelling set of headphones but more and more we're required to wear hard hats on site due to a lot of over head work with the grips running around on scissor lifts. Suffice to say this style headset is a no go with the brain bucket on. Disposable foamies for me.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I don't see why mufflers would be an inconvenience.

They wouldn't in The Netherlands except for maybe 2 weeks out of the typical year. Here, they get pretty wet about half the year but I wear them anyway.

I wear them too in hot weather. And thanks to global warming we're not anymore on our minute two weeks of mildly warm weather as we used to be in the old days, it now can be quite hot here for months in a row. Admittedly, it's nowhere near the stories I hear from Texas, but even for America you get the extreme. The mufflers do get sweaty, I agree, but I can live with sweaty while I can not with the noise. But you don't need to wear them constantly, just put them on when you use a tool and take them off when you're finished.  

Besides that, there are other options than fully ear encompassing shells.  

 

[upscale]

I have been thinking about this for a while and was just wondering.  No right or wrong answers, no tool usage police.  Just wondering

In the past, to be honest, "no" not usually. Would I wear them now if the need/opportunity arose, the answer is a definite "yes".

I'm a few years shy of 60 and I've noticed the past several years that loud/high pitched noises are very irritating. And, I know my hearing isn't as good as it used to be, so I'd want to try and protect the hearing I do have left.

 

[tjbier]

I wear the Howard Light Max light's (green).
I never did until I was 24 or so and one night couldn't fall asleep due to the ringing in my ears!  Framing guns, staplers, and saws make a lot of noise, ya kno!
I wore them religiously for a few months and the ringing went away, but one day of forgetting will bring it right back.
I also wear the "work tunes" when I'm inside trimming, no radio cranked over the noise of tools! I can't stand that.

But I definitely do have hearing loss, lol.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I wear them all the time.  I have these Peltor headphone style, comfortable enough to wear all day and dirt cheap, Peltor H6A/V Optime at Amazon.

 

[Steve R]

Anything over 80 db will damage hearing. Using a db meter I found I can clap my hands and peg the 110 db meter at it's max 110 db.

I have had my ear drums broken twice at a young age. Yea hearing was reduced a bit.

I wear hearing protection anytime I using power tools and even some hand tools.

In today's world there are so many comfortable options.  The sound canceling (Active Noise Reduction or ANR) ones you can get today allow you to hear and talk with others when tools are are not running and can actually increase hearing ability and the price is now very low for these. They will kick in/activate  when the ambient noise gets into the 80 db range. What make them great is that once the sound level drops to a safe level they turn off and you can hear just like normal.  So you don't have to take them off and then forget where they are and have to look to find them the next time. The result is you have them on and don't turn on the tool without them because "it is too much trouble to find/go get them".

As with any technology things advance. You can now get ANR headphones that you can plug your iPod into, have built in radios, connect to your phone via bluetooth so you can answer your phone while wearing them and they can have build in VOX radios so you can CX with the crew just like you were standing next to them.

I have earplugs with in reach all the time. Ever ridden in a jet?.... I use to travel 500,000+ airline miles a year and will not go on a plane without ear plugs and or sound canceling head phones.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Jonhilgen]

Wear them most of the time, but then someone gave me a Bose Bluetooth amd now I'm addicted to wearing it on the jobsite because I can now work and talk more efficiently (at the cost of my hearing.) More recently, I've left the Bluetooth in the truck because my ears are ringing more amd more.

I also do landscaping on the side, and I never go without them while doing yards.

Jon

 

[lambeater]

Always, hate noise and would still like to hear when I am old!
thx
Lambeater