Hearing Protection

   / Hearing Protection #12  
all i use now is muffs cause i was weed wacking last summer,wear those foam ear plugs the throw away kind, and was walking backwards, (i know its my own stupid fault). there was a tree branch and it pushed the foam plug into my ear canal, now talk about pain. i was down instantly and hardly could walk the 100 feet to the house to get sommone to take me to the docter cause i couldnt/didnt want to take it out myself. ever sense then ive sworen i wont wear plugs, muffs all the way for me.
Mark
 
   / Hearing Protection #13  
Unfortunately, I have suffered hearing damage. It crept up on me during the last 5 years. I think most of mine is due to air ratchets and air hoses. I also like racing but have worn hearing protection at them for the last several years. My ears ring constantly and is above all other normal noises. When I go to the local dirt tracks or to NASCAR events, I see almost nobody wearing hearing protection. I can see a class action lawsuit against racing bodies some day. I was warned by a high school teacher who flew bombers during WW two that suffered hearing damage from the planes. Did not think it would happen to me but here 30 years later it has happened. Anyway, I always wear hearing protection now to save what is left.
 
   / Hearing Protection #14  
972500 you were extremely lucky that you had that foam ear plug. Otherwise that branch would have gone up your ear canal.

In the prohibition era there was a hitman that specialized in icepick-in-the-ear murders. He would typically find his victim drinking in a bar, walk up to him and throw an arm around him. His hand had the icepick that would go in the victim's ear. The victim died instantly and there were only a few drops of blood. As the victim slumped, the mobster would say that he's had too much and had fallen asleep. Then he would offer to take him home. The other customers and the barkeep never realized that he had been murdered.

Of course you would have been luckier if you had been wearing earmuffs.

I carry a pair of foam plugs in a small container in my coat pocket. Sometimes when I'm in a restaurant and there's a noisy child in the next booth, I just put them in.

In Pennsylvania it's illegal to wear earphones, muffs or other protection while driving. This is a problem for motorcyclists with loud mufflers that want to keep their hearing. However if the policeman notices the ear plugs, the motorcyclist innocently says, "They're noise filters officer"
 
   / Hearing Protection #15  
I like my Peltor H10 muffs, which have an NRR of 30db.
In ther warm weather they make you heat up quicker, though. I use them chainsawing & shooting year-round, and doing any other VERY loud things.

In summer, for less painful noises, like the tractor, I'll go with the baffle plugs that are connected together with the little plastic cord, I find when i remove them I can drape them aroud the neck for a short bit, then have them "around" when it's time to resume.

I do keep some of the little foamie plugs around, here and there, good back-up, because we often use what we have readily available.

Gas powered riding mowers, especially older ones, will just about make you go deaf.
 
   / Hearing Protection #16  
Oh Man! I love my Peltor worktunes muffs. Not only does it block out the extrem noise of the mower and high rpms, I also enjoy a couple of hours of "tractor boogy". :)
 
   / Hearing Protection #17  
yea i deffintly realzie i was lucky to have the plugs rather than nothing as it would have went into my ear. but as u stated had i had muffs on it simply would have deflected off and i wouldnt have knowen a differnece.
Mark
 
   / Hearing Protection #18  
I only use muffs. Too help prevent them from getting funky with skin oil and sweat, I put Kleenex over the opening for each ear, pushing in the center (a place for the ear) and put them on (which means one ear at a time if you've ever tried doing this. I've gotten good at it over the (y)ears). Not particularly useful if you are constantly putting them on and taking them off, but I don't generally do that so it works for me.
 
   / Hearing Protection #19  
I am afraid to look too closely at my ear muffs. I guess they would probably meet the standard of "funky"; but I am the only one wearing them, and they work. Now my foam ear plugs- they are funky :eek:. Jay
 
   / Hearing Protection #20  
Take it from someone with a substantial high frequency hearing loss (22 years in the USMC when "real men didn't plug their ears" and a familial history of otosclerosis), protect your hearing. Even if the noise level is below someone's standards! I'm a bit surprised by the law prohibiting ear protection while driving ... deaf people are permitted to drive ... in fact back about 20 years ago, we had a new civilian draftsman at a Marine Corps Base and since my son is deaf I sign and got to be friends with him. Base motor transport refused to give him a license for a government vehicle because he was deaf even though the base order said all he needed was a valid state license which he had. I talked to the motor transport officer and asked why? He said, "because he can't hear emergency vehicles coming." I responded that we make heavy equipment operators wear hearing protection while they drive including on base roads and that Lance Corporal with the new Camaro, windows rolled up, a/c on, and the 2 megawatt stereo blaring -- well how much siren could either of them hear? He got his base license.
 
 
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