Hearing Protection

[Charlesaf3]

another lesson learned...

I keep the plugs on the tractor. Sometimes even use them. I'm going to try to be better about it after reading this.

I do use plugs and muffs running the chipper. Man is that loud. Hat/muff for chainsaw, now I'll add the plugs.

I bought a box of milwaukee plugs on amazon for $6 or so - big box, hundreds. That price has gone up, sadly, but its still nice to have a them everywhere. Don't know about others, but I've found unless safety equipment is lying around everywhere I won't bother to hunt for it...

 

[BeeferMan]

I use the muffs, and I use them a lot. Protects me from the sound of hammering, engine noise, grinding, and I even wear them into the house as they offer a small, but noticeable amount of protection from the constant jabbering of... well never mind.

But here's another benefit I've found from running equipment while wearing the hearing protection. They tend to be better at blocking out the high frequencies, so when you're running something like a haybine or a baler you can hear the sound of the heavy components rather than the sheet metal flapping. I don't care as much about the pickup teeth as I do, say, the roller bearings...

 

[MikeInEburg]

I'm firmly in the "wear them whenever using equipment" camp. The muff-style for me - with speakers to plug into my MP3 player. Safety glasses when mowing. And boots.
Mike

 

[Hematite]

I use the muffs, and I use them a lot. Protects me from the sound of hammering, engine noise, grinding, and I even wear them into the house as they offer a small, but noticeable amount of protection from the constant jabbering of... well never mind.

But here's another benefit I've found from running equipment while wearing the hearing protection. They tend to be better at blocking out the high frequencies, so when you're running something like a haybine or a baler you can hear the sound of the heavy components rather than the sheet metal flapping. I don't care as much about the pickup teeth as I do, say, the roller bearings...

Good one about the in house hearing protection!

I also noticed what you said about the higher frequencies being blocked and only hearing the lower frequencies when I used them while mowing, yesterday.

 

[Ford850]

The Peltors i purchased have a limit to how loud they will go. I think it is 82 db.

The radio is 82db maximum, but that's on top of the sound from the equipment. So if they are rated at 22db protection and you are using your tractor at 92db, you have 70db of noise from the tractor plus the radio of 82db max. That's 152db WITH your ear muffs on.
I used to use the radio muffs until I thought about it. Why would I want to add 30 - 40db minimum from the music when the muffs only reduce the tractor by 22db. I would be better off with no muffs. Now I wear foam plugs because they are rated as the best protection when inserted properly. It takes some practice to get them in your ears deep enough, but once you get the hang of it, it is easy.

 

[ragkar]

Sorry but you're wrong.
As previously stated, hearing is on a logarithmic scale and you just can't add together db numbers. If you had 82db noise and you added to it another 82db (doubling the noise intensity) the result would be 85db noise. And an increase of 3db is just barely perceptible to the human ear.

The formula is
Db of sound[P1] = 10 times log[base 10] of (P1/Pref)

So if you do the math 82db plus 70db equals 82.3 db.

 

[savageactor7]

Sorry to hear about the Maine_Polack's trouble with the Peltars. This spring I got the 'Peltar 22 worktunes' ear protectors...love 'em.

 

[Uncle Wayne]

I use the foam type when on my JD 4320 or mowing with my LT155 JD mower. Works pretty good for me.

 

[archerm3]

Does anyone use hearing protection?
If so, what kind?
I tried the sponge rubber squishable ear plugs and they work a little bit. Nice and light and non-intrusive but not quite enough noise reduction.
Then I tried my shooting headset - A Swiss "Thunder 29" and it seemed to amplify the low frequency noises. So no-go on that idea.

This noise thing hasn't been a problem for me with older tractors, but recently we got a new TLB with a canopy and the exhuast right by the front wheel. That combo makes it sort of loud for the operator.
rScotty

The last time I saw a comparison was from the Army Medical research laboratory, which shows that nothing can beat the little yellow squishy earplugs in passive dB reduction.

 

[Happyman]

Always, always, always use some sort of hearing protection. For under $100 I had a set of custom ear plugs made. They fit perfectly to the contour of my ear canals. I wear them whenever my butt hits the tractor seat.....and then I put on muffs for that extra edge of protection. It may sound like overkill (no pun intended) but hearing loss can't be found again and I really don't care to be an old deaf man later in life (only 52 right now ).

 

[2305NE]

Gotta agree with all the other posters...USE HEARING PROTECTION. I didn't when I was younger and have ~70% of normal hearing now when there is no background noise. With background noise such as wind or in a car going down the highway, my hearing is only ~24% of normal. It is amazing what I can't hear. Had some company over the other night and they commented on all the locusts 'singing'. I couldn't hear them and haven't heard them for several years. I can see various song birds singing when I see them, but cannot hear them. Finally got a hearing aid a few years ago and that does help, especially for hearing turkeys gobble in the spring. I now wear foam plugs whenever I am around any equipment and use both foam plugs and muffs when shooting.

PLEASE guys, protect your hearing!

 

[ragkar]

On a previous post of this thread I made the mistake of making some calculations based upon guess at sound levels. so today I went out and got some real world numbers.

When measured at my ear location while mowing, my Honda HCV160 self propelled lawn mower creates a measured 89db of noise.

Peltor's digital headset has an advertised earcup attenuation of 26db.

A comfortable sound level of rock n'roll (while mowing) in the Peltor headset is a measured 66db.

89db minus 26 db is 63db of mower noise inside the ear cups.

63db engine noise plus 66db rock n'roll noise equals 67.7db total noise.
That's less than a vacuum cleaner at ten feet.

By the way, I don't normally listen to rock n'roll and I did finish mowing.

 

[cisco]

Reason I responded to this thread is attached. Saw a neighbor's kid bushhogging with one of these things (or just a garden variety boom box - too far away to tell) attached to the ROPS of his tractor. Gotta be a bit noisy, playing a boom box (advertisement cites 200 watts of amplification) just above one's head at sufficient volume to hear such over the tractor noise. Now, I don't believe the level of protection cited on the package for plugs or muffs --- if used under "real world" conditions (the original EAR stuff, widely distributed, was on subjects sitting quietly in a sound proofed booth, not sweating, talking - jaw movement can displace earplugs - and the like, over the course of a workday). Hence, the NIOSH correction factors listed in a prior post.
But, whatever one uses must be better than no hearing protection at all, plus a boom box playing above the ambient level sufficiently to satisfy a bored adolescent.

 

[SideHillBill]

Like many who grew up before ear protection was appreciated, I have significant hearing loss. I always wear foam protectors to save what hearing I have left.

The two main objections to wearing hearing protection are:
1. It's a nuisance to put them on/in. Well, same with hearing aids.
2. There's a cost involved. My last set of hearing aids cost $3,000.

Please wear hearing protection. It's really very important.

 

[Steve C]

if I am going to be using the tractor for more than 10 minutes I put on my Milwaukee ear muffs and if I can't find them because I am old and forgot where I last put them I use the foam ear pluggs. There is no good reason not to.

 

[thatguy]

When on my jd4320, I wear the baffle kind that are attached with a string. They work well

that is what I wear but I like the silicone versions ones.. I tried the rubber ones and they were a little hard on the ear skin..

brian

 

[foggy1111]

I have tinnitus from not protecting my ears in time gone by. There is ALWAYS a "teapot" boiling sound.....according to my ears. In time gone by....it was said hearing loss from shooting was only "temporary"....even the Army did not furnish hearing protection at the rifle range. What a buncha BULL Very frustrating at times. I have paid over $6000. for a pair of hearing aids....and I am not very happy with the performance of them. I wear foam plugs allot and various over the head muffs - when I remember. I sure don't want my hearing to get worse.

I use wireless amplified muffs to watch TV shows (if I want to actually hear what is being said in a movie for example).

I bought a set of Peltor electronic, amplified muffs when they came out.....and used these for many years especially at rifle ranges and when shooting prairie dogs, etc....as well as for other noisy situations. However I recently ruined them while grinding stumps. I just did an internet search and bought a set of Howard Lights electronic muffs which I received the other day. Gotta say.....these seem better....and only $50.00 I may buy another set after wearing these a bit more.

PROTECT YOUR HEARING.....hearing loss is NOT reversible.

 

[srjones]

While we're on the subject....

Hearing protection with FM radio and Bluetooth - Head, hearing and sight protection

Oh, if I could only afford it...but give it a few years and hopefully the price will come down.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

For a few years now, I've been wearing noise reduction headphones. My first pair was the first generation Peltor Worktunes. Funny, they didn't work nearly as well after passing through the under side of a bush hog So, next was a set of the digital tuned Peltors. MUCH better! And then a vendor I buy from gave me a pair of the Husquvarna digital tuned headphones. They seem to FIT better, which in turn provides a better seal to my size 2 big head. End result? Quieter. I swap back and forth from time to time as they'll get uncomfortable after a few days of continuous wearing.

I've already suffered a significant loss of hearing from (a) loud stereos, (b) exposure to weapons fire while in the military, and (c) 6 decades of being around loud tractors. I'm hoping to "cut my losses" so to speak. But....No need to wear a hearing aid just yet. Lack of good hearing has added YEARS to my marriage!

 

[mjncad]

I have paid over $6000. for a pair of hearing aids....and I am not very happy with the performance of them.

I wish the hearing aid industry wasn't such a rip-off. There is no reason a pair of hearing aids should cost $6,000. To me the biggest expense should be the custom fit housing, and it shouldn't be that high. After all I can get a gold crown from my not cheap dentist for a grand. As for the electronics, there shouldn't be anything magic about that too, especially when one can buy a smart-phone for under $500 that does far more than hearing aids do.