Do You Wear Hearing Protection?

woodworkbykirk

it depends on the task at hand

framing when running the gun full out either assembly of walls, blocking, strapping i wear em. if its a shot here or there i normally dont. if im cutting i will

trimming- if im doing production work ill wear em when im on the table saw or working the router and sanding,

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putting down subfloor with glue and screws, well i saw dr. smith and the robot too , i had a martian burger and a sonic shake

katoman

READ THIS !!!!!!!!!

A few years ago it felt like I had water in one of my ears. Figured it would just clear itself up. Well, after a couple of days, I decided to stop into the ER to get it checked out. Turns out I had an airborne virus in my one ear. I lost about 25% of my hearing in that ear. No cure.

I had never heard of such a thing, but if diagnosed within 12 hrs. they have an antibiotic that will clear it up. If not caught in time, the damage will be permanent.

Tell everyone you know about this. If you get it checked out immediately, they can prevent your hearing loss.

Wish I had known. And yes, I wear hearing protection when needed.

Leo G

My brother had something similar as you. Only he is an idiot. Turns out he used one of those bands like davitk showed and when he took it off he noticed his hearing was really low in one ear. He complained and we told him to go to the doctors, but he refused. A few days later my Dad noticed something in his ear. Turns out it was the ear plug rubber, it had been pulled off the band and stayed in his ear canal. All was well after that.

Sorry to hear about your hearing loss katoman.

'My Dad got a serious ear infection when I was about 10. Ignored it for to long and antibiotics couldn't do anything for him. He had to have the ear innards removed, including the cochlea and vestibular system which is part of the balance mechanism. It took him weeks to learn how to walk again because of his miss balancing.

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KennMacMoragh

I usually do, I need some new ones though. I bought a pack at Walgreens, it was about 50 of them for five dollars. But I noticed they don't block out the sound as much as other ear plugs do.

Inner10

I'l be the first to admit I'm an idoit.

I have very poor hearing due to the fact my eat canal doesn't drain wax properly, so my hearing is very spotty. Hearing protection is always in the truck not on my head where it should be.

I do alot of overhead and beside ear hammerdrilling which is terrible on my right ear but I always seem to forget the ear muffs...plus all the miles on motorcycle without plugs ain't helpin.

Wearing that thing would drive me bonkers.

Birch

I’ve been wearing ear plugs for the last 28 +/- years and I have pretty good hearing for an old guy who’s been on the job his entire life. I prefer the hex shaped plugs with the open cells because my ears don’t sweat as bad so they are more comfortable for up to 10 hours. I wear them inserted comfortably as not to make me totally deaf.

If you still have decent hearing, then wearing plugs will actually let you hear better than you hear without them. They muffle the painful loud high pitch sounds while still allowing you to communicate. I find myself and others who wear them talking at a higher volume, but that is to be expected. On the other hand, my hearing isn’t becoming callused, or scared, from dealing with the pain of the loud high pitched construction noises.

Loudness is painful to the ear and they scar from continuous abuse. Proper hearing protection will protect the ear from the scars of painful sounds and allow the non painful sounds through. You don’t want to wear deafening protection on the average job site, just enough to take the pain out. Still today, I have to cover my ears with my hands if I get caught unprotected hearing a loud tool used, it really hurts.

Another trick I do is I wash my used ear plugs in the laundry. I stuff a clean sock full, tied the end in a knot, and run them through in hot water with my whites. I put the sock in the dryer to dry them. They come out like new. Wear a clean pair every day.

Osito

I should wear hearing protection but just forget. I get upset that by the end of the day I have trouble hearing low sounds.

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kevjob

I use the band type as well even when I cutting drywall or driving screws.

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Kowboy

I find myself grabbing my neck for my ear protection even when I'm about to vacuum the floors at home! It's instinctive and has been for years. Get the habit if you don't have it, it's never too late.

Kowboy

MALCO.New.York

In order.............


Brain.

Eyes.

Hands.

Ears.

Ankles.

Knees.

Knuts.

Bank Account.

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curiouscanuck

I wear standard Peltor earmuffs whenever using anything noisier than a cordless drill.

If I am working on a site that requires helmets I have some of the Peltors that attach directly to the helmet.

Cannot stand having anything inside my ears though.

Matt

ChainsawCharlie

I usually have a motor running three feet from my head most of the day. I wear the standard ear muffs whith my ipod earbuds dropped inside of them. no need to put them in my ears, and I can run a relatively low volume.

Graham J

I use ear protection all the time, especially for sawing and have started more with the nailing as well. The only time I don't use plugs is when I am hunting Big Game in the bush with my rifle. At the shooting range, I use two sets--a pair of foam plugs, as well as muffs. I find I even shoot better if I hear the report of the gun less. The plugs I use are foam attached to a plastic neck band, similar to what one poster here pictured, only more durable. I wear them every day, all day.
Thanks for the reminder, Framerman.
I also use I protection all the time for working. I have had to medically remove sawdust from my eyes twice, and the OSHA paperwork is enough to remind me to use glasses, never mind the pain!

Graham

NNY

Man , that creates quite a visual ! Seriously though I don't wear them near as much as I should . I am going to get with the program . Thanks for all the input .

woodchuck2

Back in my late teens and early twenties i worked at a ski center on the snow making crew, the snow guns were basically a 2" air line wide open with 90-100psi. They sounded like a jet engine and could be heard 10 miles away. Even with ear muffs on i found i lost some hearing in my right ear due to picking up the snow guns and moving them by hand. Doing this required me to bear hug the gun so i would turn my head to the left when i grabbed them and my right ear would be mere inches away from the nozzle. I regret this now but overall my hearing is still ok. I am more careful now, i carry ear plugs and 3 pair of ear muffs on my trailer. If the noise is really loud i have even used both the plugs and the muffs together.

4 seasons lawn&

i like the work tunes!

Joining_heads

I bought the Ryobi muffs at the dopey the other week and have been very impressed. You can hear people talk (its not perfect though) and that is worth the money to me. Plus, my ipod plugs into it. No more country music for me!

Timuhler

Framerman,

We tried using earplugs when I was about 18 or 19. No one liked it because we couldn't hear each other.

The summer I got married, I took off about 3 weeks, 2 for the honeymoon and 1 because I got mono (yup the week of the wedding), when I got home and went back to work, my ears hurt. From then on, so a little over 9 years I've been wearing them.

The whole crew has just gotten used to it. We've had people tell us we are loud (but we don't swear), so we've learned to raise our voice and learn to listen. Whenever there is a new guy, he is totally deaf. After a while your brain just learns to filter and you can hear just fine.

We use these guys http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-...1898234&sr=1-5

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thejwalkr

I never wore the protection and paid the price. Im a 50 year old carpenter with a set of lovely hearing aids behind my ears. Wish I would have listened. The only good part is a ability to turn off my wife when ever I want.

KentWhitten

You got mono, I was bailing my best man out of jail so he could be in the wedding!

Those are the exact earplugs I wear, except I use the orange ones. 200 pairs for about $25 delivered. 0.12/pair is cheap insurance.

The place I'm working at, not one person wears them. I had someone ask me for a pair because he was drilling a hole through the concrete floor. Everyone else toughs it out. Routers, nailguns, music blasting away in every room to a different channel.....I don't see how these guys can't wear ear plugs.

My ears are really sensitive to the pitch of a skilsaw for some reason. I can feel it in my teeth.

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