Ear Protection

[mcrame01]

I agree Ralph. Sometimes it is nice to have total peace and quiet. For me, that time is in the deer stand. There is something about being behind a steering wheel and not having music that drives me crazy though. Good idea about the earbuds and regular earmuffs Chet. I never even thought of that.

[Botabill]

Originally Posted by smfcpacfp

I use shooting ear muffs and throw away ear plugs. When you get to my age, you will wish you did everything imaginable to save your hearing.

I'm with smfcpacfp but with an add on. Forget about a radio in those muffs. What you are doing by closing in sound while similtaneousltrying competing with outside sound sources may be worse than operating a tractor without hearing protection. I don't know what decibel level of noise is generated in radio ear 'protection?' but it must be significant. I have tenitus (constant whistling, roaring, buzzing and white noise in my ears) caused by a life of moderate music and machines. It ain't pleasant and if I could go back I'd make some changes but they wouldn't include radio ear 'protection?' . I will never again be able to hear silence so listen to Ralph, get the best muffs possible and enjoy the silence while you can.

[Squeak n Itch]

Strongly advise, in addition to earmuffs, to have disposable earplugs in several locations including the cars, tractor and shop. Can't believe how many times I have had to go to the car to retrieve the ear protection during wedding receptions!

It always seems that the loud noises happen when I least expect.

My business income depends on my ability to discern subtle sounds.

[EddieWalker]

I buy the disposable ear plugs at Lowes that have about a hundred or more of them in the package. I keep a pair in my pocket at all times due to work or just doing stuff around the house. I also have them in my jacket pockets and in a couple of my tool boxes.

I've tried a few brands of ear muffs that have been cheap to fairly pricey. They all seem to do the job, but after a few hours, tend to squeeze my skull, which begins to hurt.

There are hearing places that make custom molded ear plugs that are supposed to be rated at almost totally effective. From what I'm told, the soft, foam ear plugs are almost as good since they mold to the ear cavity.

Eddie

[jsborn]

Ear muffs or plugs will work fine but you may want to think of all the sounds you drowned out with music that you should be hearing. I can tell more about how my equip is operating by the sounds it makes than i can by watching it.

Just a thought ???

[toddler]

I'm going to chime in and disagree with using electronic shooting earmuffs. I have a pair from Peltor, and they're great for shooting where they basically turn off the amplifier if you clap your hands or there's a loud sound. But on a tractor, it's a constant high sound level.

So you'd have the same results if you turn the earmuffs off while you're on the tractor, as you would if you have them on. I just use regular set of Peltors 99% of the time.

If you plan to listen to music under your hearing protection, I'd opt for the highest level of protection available so you don't have to play the music too loud.

Peltor H10 ! ! ! 30 Db. At your door for $30.

Peltor H10 H10A Earmuffs Ear Muffs Optime 105 Hi-Viz - eBay (item 280176886933 end time Apr-21-08 15:20:13 PDT)

If you don't want to just lift the earcup to speak, you can get these:
Peltor Muff H7: Peltor® PTL™ Over-the-head Earmuff H7A-PTL, H7A-PTL SHIPS FREE on orders $29.95 & up

But they are less effective.

Less protective earmuffs like the Worktunes AM/FM are only 19db protection. The better Peltor Worktunes FM are 24db, but I'd want more if I wanted to be able to hear music at a safe level.

Regards,
Todd

[jbrumberg]

I use NRR 32 earplugs sometimes with my safety helmet earphones. A bottle of NRR 32's (40 pairs) costs about $8.00 at a pharmacy. Cheap insurance in the long run, and like many of the "elderly" posters , I too suffer from the effects of long term noise exposure . Save your hearng while you can. Jay

[zapper]

Does anyboby know who sells the digital worktunes earrmuffs?

[WarrenF]

Heck, just break the filters off of unsmoked cigarettes....stick them in your ears and they will work just fine. That is what we used when I was in the military.

[mab]

Wow! Its great to read of so many people wearing hearing protection; I thought I was the exception. Like earlier posters, I keep several pairs of the yellow E.A.R foam cylinders in most of my work jackets, toolboxes, and scattered around the shop. If I'm doing something particularly noisy, I will sometimes throw on a pair of Peltor P9's AND foam plugs. The plugs have a NRR of 22, which I figure cuts the top 22 dB off the long term ambient noise. I have also found them useful in Hotels and for travelling, where peace and quite can get you a good nights sleep. I find that I can re-use the foam plugs (throwing them in a mesh bag and into the washing machine when they get really grimy!) As for hearing the machinery, yes its important, but I find that I can still hear through the plugs. On the flip side, studies have shown constant loud noise is fatiguing. And to that end, I'm more relaxed (but still alert) when I don't have the 110 dB Husqvarna whailing in my ear! Interesting thread. My $0.02.