Hearing Protection - Use it or not?

[fdengel]

Always with some tools, sometimes with others.

For example, a drill press is generally very quiet, but sometimes for certain types of drilling I can get a loud screechy noise out of mine, and if that starts happening I will sometimes "stop the press" and put on earmuffs.

On the other hand, my Ryobi miter saw is so loud that if I forget to put something on I know it instantly when I start the saw... hopefully that never happens again!

 

[Holzhacker]

I don't think ever, not in 30 years. For what? Not nearly as loud as the Velvet Underground, the Dead or Metallica.

 

[Timtool]

I use em all the time because i have relatively fine hearing, so i find tool noises extremely disturbing. I'm always listening to the radio in the shop, and i would hate to stand hours behind a tablesaw with muffs hearing nothing. So now i'm using Howard leight hearing protectors with built in radio, and it really makes my work much more pleasant. I wear them close to 8 hours a day because i wear them even for sanding or drilling.

In the same line i will also systematically wear safety glasses for anything besides sanding or dilling.
And i know many who don't bother, for starters when i took woodworking classes none of the teachers wore eye or hearing protection while i refuse to work without.

 

[jmbfestool]

What DeanSocial said!  Only over the last 3years have I started wearing ear muffs when I was learning I never bothered because my mentor never did and never told me to and I just found them annoying.

  Wearing ear muffs for 3years regularly at work I have found when I start a tool up with no ear muffs I really notice the noise and want to put my ear muffs on.   I find you notice the noise far more also when some one else is making the noise instead of your self.

 I wish started wearing them when i started joinery cus I always feel paranoid that I have damaged my ears already.  Same with music in my car I always had my music dead loud in them boy racer days!

I use some regular cheap headphone type earmuffs

and I also bought these ones not cheap about £120

http://www.proguarduk.co.uk//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=39

 

[tbellemare]

Not nearly as loud as the Velvet Underground, the Dead or Metallica.

I was at South by Southwest recently and saw about a dozen shows real close up. I was glad I had some of the expanding foam earplugs.

I remember going to a music club here called Antone's when Clifford Antone was still alive. The music was so loud, my jeans were rippling and my bowels felt it. I asked the bartender to turn it down and he said, "I can't because then Clifford won't be able to hear it. He won't let us." It was then that I realized the bartender had ear plugs...

Tom

 

[davee]

I do now. I wish I had begun doing so when I was younger.

 

[PaulMarcel]

I was at South by Southwest recently and saw about a dozen shows real close up. I was glad I had some of the expanding foam earplugs.

I remember going to a music club here called Antone's when Clifford Antone was still alive. The music was so loud, my jeans were rippling and my bowels felt it. I asked the bartender to turn it down and he said, "I can't because then Clifford won't be able to hear it. He won't let us." It was then that I realized the bartender had ear plugs...

Tom

Bet you're glad you didn't go for Chinese buffet before the show...

 

[Steve R]

I was at South by Southwest recently and saw about a dozen shows real close up. I was glad I had some of the expanding foam earplugs.

I remember going to a music club here called Antone's when Clifford Antone was still alive. The music was so loud, my jeans were rippling and my bowels felt it. I asked the bartender to turn it down and he said, "I can't because then Clifford won't be able to hear it. He won't let us." It was then that I realized the bartender had ear plugs...

Tom

Bet you're glad you didn't go for Chinese buffet before the show...

That comment is really below the belt.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[mouppe]

My father-in-law suffers terribly from tinnitus and I would not wish this on anyone. I use hearing protection all the time- sometimes I forget the ear muffs are even on. Domino, rotex, ts55 all get the ear muff treatment. Not so much the CT.

As a sidenote, I think that the Festool demo videos should feature folks wearing ear protection where necessary in the same way they wear eye protection.

 

[Steve R]

As a sidenote, I think that the Festool demo videos should feature folks wearing ear protection where necessary in the same way they wear eye protection.

+ 1

Cheers,
Steve

 

[tbellemare]

I was at South by Southwest recently and saw about a dozen shows real close up. I was glad I had some of the expanding foam earplugs.

I remember going to a music club here called Antone's when Clifford Antone was still alive. The music was so loud, my jeans were rippling and my bowels felt it. I asked the bartender to turn it down and he said, "I can't because then Clifford won't be able to hear it. He won't let us." It was then that I realized the bartender had ear plugs...

Tom

Bet you're glad you didn't go for Chinese buffet before the show...

That comment is really below the belt.

Cheers,
Steve

I was referring to the bass notes. The treble would likely have curled my hair even further if I had enough left for that... Oh, I forgot, it did curl those sticking out of my ears.

Tom

 

[tallgrass]

I wear hearing and Eye protection all the time. I only have one set of eyes, and one set of ears. I've very comfortable glasses that make me not want to not wear them and I have fantastic hearing protection that allows me use my phone listen to music , Carry on a conversation, and keep my hearing at the same time. No reason to not wear them.

 

[Brice Burrell]

...As a sidenote, I think that the Festool demo videos should feature folks wearing ear protection where necessary in the same way they wear eye protection.

Actually, they do.  I noticed several of the promotional videos the guy is wearing hearing protection.

 

[kfitzsimons]

I do now when I'm using a planer, router or other loud tool. I wish I would have been smarter when I was younger as some others have noted. I tried to tell my son not to wear his ipod when mowing the lawn. I tried it and it was way too loud - it has to be louder than the mower. This generation of kids with their ipods, etc. will keep the audiologists in business for years. I wish I could let my son hear the permanent ringing in my left ear. Not pleasant.

 

[Stone Message]

Hello Everyone

Has anyone found a good pair of noise cancelling muffs or noise cancelling headphones for use with an iPod etc?

Peter

 

[Stone Message]

Dear Chris

I understand your point but does one have to have the volume up very high on the iPod when, say, planing? My worry is that the ear damage might still occur but from the music rather than the tool. What make and model are your FM muffs?

Peter

 

[Kev]

It keeps falling off of my todo list, but I mean to try a set of these ...

http://www.eyemuffs.com/

... Another member introduced them to the FOG a while back ...

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-wish-list/fill-in-the-blank-i-wish-festool-made-a-______!/msg192985/#msg192985

For both aerodynamic reasons and due to an ancient gypsy curse on the family bloodline, I don't have much hair on my head. I think the eyemuffs could be comfortable for me.

 

[greenMonster]

I wear in ear canal type headphones which I find block enough noise that I don't have to turn up the volume.

 

[Sparktrician]

I wear either muffs or molded ear plugs, especially when I'm routing or hammer-drilling.  No need to lose any more of the hearing in my one working ear.  The inability to hear in stereo makes a huge negative difference when trying to hear a conversation in a noisy environment like a restaurant, or to be able to identify where a sound is coming from.  Too bad nobody makes anything to suppress the tinnitus noise.  Eye protection is permanent, regardless of what I'm doing.  And Ron Miller is right that hearing aids just ain't too attractive. 

 

[peter halle]

Time to confess.  To the member who messaged me and asked me what was going on, you know me too well, I am working on something for members with a manufacturer of a great and effective product.  It is lite weight, can be adapted for hardhat usage, is non electronic and noise reducing but normal conversation can be heard with them on. 

I have been playing with renderings for the last couple of days and I hope to have news soon.

Peter