Yes. I rarely do, and if I do, I leave one ear bud out and the volume low enough to wear someone right next to me couldn't hear it.

 

In what way? I wear my noise-canceling pair fairly often. I love them, there's a feature to control the volume of ambient noise. I turn it up when doing something important, or just pop one side off if it's absolutely critical.

No different than ear protection that people using loud machinery use, IMO. I just get to enjoy music instead of silence.

I work alone so I don't usually have to listen for people calling out to me or the occasional "heads up!" Lol

 

I wear them. If the environment is so noisy that I would need to turn it way up, I wear my muffs with MP3 connection. So when I wear the ear buds I have it down very low. So it basically is like having a radio for background noise that nobody but me can hear.

 

The head phones I have noticed seems to block out an awareness of the environment. At least with a radio, you hear the "heads up"

 

Somewhere along the line in history, this statement...I feel...was in error. Heads up usually means somethings coming at your head from above. So I guess it's better that it hits your face than it does your head :laughing:

Golfers have it right. "FORE!!!!!"

 

Yes, I don't allow my guys to wear them and I only wear radio muffs when working alone/doing menial tasks.

 

Idiotic on larger commercial/industrial sites. I think a year ago a kid was killed by a dump truck backing up.

 

Not allowed on my job sites.

 

Same here. It's annoying. Not even one in one ear. :no:

 

It's the same reason it's not allowed while driving

 

Shouldn't be allowed while crossing the street on foot, either. I pass up the chance to run over a pedestrian crossing the street against the light at least twice per day. Always with earphones.

 

If I'm putting on door knobs, adjusting hardware and other such light work I'll have one earbud in listening to an audiobook. In that case I'm usually alone in a house with no other work going on. Otherwise I don't use them.

 

If I want to listen to something it's usually a mini speaker plugged into my phone. Some of the tiny speakers, about the size of a salt shaker, are very good. And they charge on a USB charger. My crew have the same. Rarely a large job-site radio going.

 

I wear a bluetooth pair of headphones almost all day whenever I'm working alone. It separates me from my retired clients who like to hover and chat. I tell them in the morning that I'll have my headphones on and then I just hope it's too much of a hassle for them to flag me down to tighten that door knob in the middle of the day.

Keeping the music on when I'm working with someone else always makes me nervous though.

 

I work alone and wear noise blocking earbuds pretty much all day. I can understand the concern about awareness but it depends on the volume of the music. I can hear nearby noises. When I used to work in shops there were 10+ tools going at all times and 2-3 blaring radios. I couldn't hear a damn thing and I took to wearing ear plugs all day after I developed tinnitus.

If it's a situation where someone would be wearing ear protection anyway then I think it can be safer as people aren't as tempted to crank the radio so they can hear it 50' away.

 

Somewhere along the line in history, this statement...I feel...was in error. Heads up usually means somethings coming at your head from above. So I guess it's better that it hits your face than it does your head :laughing: Golfers have it right. "FORE!!!!!"

Heads up...
About 15 years ago I heard that while doing warm up drills on the baseball diamond. My natural response was to look up and I caught the ball with my left eye. Woke up in the hospital and found out what happened. Shattered all of the little bones around my eye socket.
If I drop something or see something fall, I yell "watch out"

 

Listening to your tools is becoming a lost art I guess.

I can tell when a saw blade is too hot, getting dull, a battery operated tool about to run out of juice, a nail or strap is solidly set, a saw cut on any material is almost through, a tool falls out of my bag, an important screw drops off the ladder, etc.

I can also hear tornado warnings, my phone ringing, a customer trying to get my attention safely, someone yelling a warning, raindrops so I know to close my windows etc.

I get the ear protection part, but to turn off one of your senses intentionally is not a good idea IMO. We should be using all of them on the jobsite.

 

Won't be long before the only thing going in my ears will be hearing aids. Too many years working and shooting without hearing protection.

 

It is never too late to start using ear protection.

 

First post ever. I find them dangerous because you can't hear if a fellow worker gets hurt and needs help. You cant hear your machinery for sound changes. (Good indicator when machine malfunctioning). I think at most, best to wear in one ear or on very low volume and to tuck any wires in your shirt or jacket.