Thanks for taking the time to write all that, Poge. It certainly may help a lot of old timers in this hobby.
If your ears ring after any loud event, you have damaged your ears. Sure, the next day you will be fine and will probably hear normally but some damage was done. Additionally, your ears don’t have to ring for damage to occur. Lower level sound for extended periods also causes hearing loss. A day in the factory or an hour or two of cutting wood or a couple hours on the lawn mower may not make your ears ring but can cause long term hearing loss as well.
As you pointed out, younger people seem a little more aware and accepting of PPE. Unfortunately in my misspent youth, partially due to upbringing and the remainder due to my own misconceptions, I thought PPE was for pussies.
Probably my biggest hearing loss came from attending tractor pulls. Imagine the stupidity of sitting maybe 100 feet from a vehicle with 6 blown hemi’s at full power. It felt like it reached right in to my soul. Loved the sound. A life time of both high and low level sound levels from things like shooting (although the first time I fired a Ruger Redhawk in 44 Mag without ear pro was also the last time I did that) chainsaws, rock concerts and even some country concerts, and one enlistment as a jet engine mechanic have added up to tinnitus. At my last hearing test at work I asked why there was nothing on the 8,000 Htz line on the printout. She said it was because I never pushed the button during that part of the test. Yikes!
Anyways, I don’t mean to babble about myself. I would just like to strongly encourage everyone to wear all the PPE when using any equipment with hazards. Ear plugs or muffs, safety glasses, chaps. Shaded goggles for cutting or brazing, face shield for grinding, and on and on. Just do it!
