Hearing Loss.......WHAT!

[gpsman007]

Learned that at a safety program...

Hearing loss occurs when your ears are exposed to........
85Db for 8 hours.....................Here is the interesting part

for every 3 Db increase above 85 your exposure time is cut in half

therefore at 88 Db hearing loss will occur at 4 hours

at 91 Db only 2 hours

at 94.... 1 hour ( Chainsaws run around 94Db B.T.W)

You get the idea.

Also it was said that by the time you notice that you have lost some hearing aproximately 1/3 of your hearing has been lost forever........

WE all no this I thought it was interesting

 

[mga]

cool.

now i know why they invented hearing protection.

 

[Whitespider]

I suffer from high frequency hearing loss and Tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears). It's been a few years since I had it checked, but at that time the hearing loss was 30-35% in the left ear and 25-30% in the right, probably worse now. I am unable to carry-on a conversation with someone if any background noise is present, such as music, TV, or in a crowd... the persons voice speaking to me gets muddled together with the background noise. I've spent my life around noise; loud engines and equipment of all sorts, loud cars and motorcycles, loud music, guns and trap shooting ranges, and worked in loud manufacturing facilities. Hearing loss is just one of the prices I pay for living the lifestyle I have... I have no regrets.

But now-a-days there isn't any excuse for young(er) people to suffer hearing loss as they age. Nearly anything with the potential to cause hearing damage is labeled with a warning of some sort and hearing protection comes in hundreds of forms. Even those cheap, disposable, high density foam ear plugs offer an amazing level of protection. Your hearing is one of the easiest things there is to protect... it's simple, just cover your ears... how hard can that be? Even shoving cigarette butts in your ears offers a certain amount of protection.

 

[openloop]

hands cupped behind ears

WHAT?????!!!! :jester:

 

[Cedar-Acres]

I suffer from high frequency hearing loss and Tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears). It's been a few years since I had it checked, but at that time the hearing loss was 30-35% in the left ear and 25-30% in the right, probably worse now. I am unable to carry-on a conversation with someone if any background noise is present, such as music, TV, or in a crowd... the persons voice speaking to me gets muddled together with the background noise. I've spent my life around noise; loud engines and equipment of all sorts, loud cars and motorcycles, loud music, guns and trap shooting ranges, and worked in loud manufacturing facilities. Hearing loss is just one of the prices I pay for living the lifestyle I have... I have no regrets.

But now-a-days there isn't any excuse for young(er) people to suffer hearing loss as they age. Nearly anything with the potential to cause hearing damage is labeled with a warning of some sort and hearing protection comes in hundreds of forms. Even those cheap, disposable, high density foam ear plugs offer an amazing level of protection. Your hearing is one of the easiest things there is to protect... it's simple, just cover your ears... how hard can that be? Even shoving cigarette butts in your ears offers a certain amount of protection.

I have exactly the same hearing loss you describe. Unfortunately it is genetic and runs in the family, I used hearing protection but still have the loss. It starts to get noticeable at about 30 years old and at 45 I had to get hearing aids. I hate the things but cannot function around people without them. When I am working outside and sweating a bunch I have to take them off or they get filled with sweat and quit working until they dry out. Even with the aids I cannot understand speech with background noise or if two people are talking at one time. Like when my son starts talking while my wife is talking to me, I completely miss what is being said by both of them and have to have them repeat it one at a time. My wife has excellent hearing and can pick out speech that I cannot even hear even with the hearing aids. I hope my son got her hearing genes!

That being said, hearing protection is very important. Save your hearing for as long as you can!!!

 

[Whitespider]

Dad wears hearing aids... and three different doctors have told me I need to go to a hearing clinic to be fitted with them.
So far I've put them and my wife off. But I know it's just a matter of time, and stubbornness, for me...
In the mean-time just speak-up a little, would ya'?

 

[Cedar-Acres]

Dad wears hearing aids... and three different doctors have told me I need to go to a hearing clinic to be fitted with them.
So far I've put them and my wife off. But I know it's just a matter of time, and stubbornness, for me...
In the mean-time just speak-up a little, would ya'?

I know exactly what you mean. I was there 3 years ago and finally gave in when I took on the role of Cubmaster in the local Cubscout pack. I really needed to be able to hear the kids to lead the meetings. Unfortunately I still have the speech discrimination problem, hearing aids can't fix that. So after 2 years of struggling with it I had to give up my position in the pack.

Hearing loss really sucks! Do what you can to protect what you have. There is no way to completely get it back once it is gone.

 

[turnkey4099]

Yep. I waited too long to start wearing muffs with the saws. Now, I won't even run a lawnmower without the muffs on. Hope to keep what I still have.

Harry K

 

[blades]

Ehh? What did you say ? Same as another poster,machine noise, ectra, and the family history thing also. I am some what passable at lip reading. Tried the hearing aid thing ten plus years ago hopefully they have narrowed the bandwidth a goodly portion since then as the ones I had just made it worse due to the wide frequency range of amplification.
On the plus side seldom hear what the ex is whining about.

 

[unclemoustache]

I lost the hearing in my right ear instantly. Got it with a nasty case of vertigo. Was so dizzy I couldn't sit up or move for 2 weeks. Took three months for the dizzy to leave, and another 4 months to get my strength back. I can hear maybe 5%-10% in that ear now, and there's a constant rushing.

In the process, I found out I had lost some hearing in the other ear due to my construction noises. Now I always wear it, but it's too late to get back what you lost. I made sure my kids sure know well enough to always wear it.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Been wearing Silencio Magnum ear protectors for years with the saw, splitter and lawn mower. They're made for shooting guns. They're big and look like I'm listening to music but I'm not. They drop the level of noise 29 decibels; well worth the money paid for them.

I always find it amusing how many people will come up to me and talk to me while I'm wearing them and expect me to hear them with them on....:msp_confused:

 

[Blazer]

I have the same described hearing problem- former farmer and too many years running tractors with no cabs. Mine is worse in the right ear, I suspect from turning my head to the right and looking back to see and listen to the hay baler, chopper mower, or any other attachment that is also loud.

My wife is constantly on me because I missed things she said- She will try to talk to me from another room, all the while the kids are chattering, the TV's on in the background and the washers going. I just cannot hear her at all unless everything else is quiet. I am going to make her read your posts so she sees it is a real problem for other folks too, not just me ignoring her or tuning her out( so Ok, maybe I do that just once in a while ) Love her to death, though.

 

[KiwiBro]

I always find it amusing how many people will come up to me and talk to me while I'm wearing them and expect me to hear them with them on....:msp_confused:

3M/Peltor have sets that allow normal conversation frequencies through without having to shout at each other or remove the earmuffs.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

3M/Peltor have sets that allow normal conversation frequencies through without having to shout at each other or remove the earmuffs.

Thanks for the information. Quite frankly, I'd rather NOT hear them because in my case it is just talk that really isn't important and pertaining to the work and it is very distracting; these people don't understand because they don't work with saws/wood so they just babble like it's easy to do both at the same time-I'd rather leave there with all of my body parts that I started with, not be distracted and hurt myself! But they would be useful IF you were working with someone who was doing the same work and you needed to talk to them.

 

[iskiatomic]

In the same boat here, Been driving a truck for 30 years, working on racecars at the local short tracks, going to NASCAR, NHRA events, concerts, and oh yea, the chainsaws.

Been doing my best to save what is left the last 3-4 years.


It will never happen to me!



KC

 

[Isna]

Good thread! I keep telling my workers how important hearing protections are. They all have some on their helmets, but some never use them. I work in a social program trying to help people get to work. I have to deal with workers that previously were long-term unemployed, drug addicts, alcoholics, political refugees, handicapped... Worse ones are political refugees from ex USSR (have 4 at the time). Really hard workers, but there is no way to get them to wear hearing protections. They just find it annoying. These figures might help.
Worse thing is: I have been wearing protections since I was 18. Now that I have to manage a team of non professionals, I often don't wear them, just to be able to hear quickly if something goes wrong. I sometimes have to chose between their safety and my health...

 

[eriklane]

Protection!

Gonna put my .02 in here for the other things we must protect. Eyes, legs, feet. I always were eye protection, all it'd take is 1 hard piece of bark or a hidden nail, despite the fact that the backward trajectory normally kicks everything behind, it's not worth it, especially if you're cutting above you etc. I wear full leg chaps on my legs, in summer, I do wear shorts underneath, and always, heavy boots. Gloves seem overkill, but, ear protection is the #1. It's way too loud to not use it.

Be safe. Cut often.

 

[Patrick62]

there is always a exception to any rule

I worked with a buddy of mine who refuses to wear anything for hearing protection. Now the interesting part is that he worked for years underground with jack leg drills..... and then ran chainsaws for oh about 30 years or so...

He can hear better than I can. I won't say that he has perfect hearing... for some darn reason he did not wipe out his hearing like you would have assumed with the exposure to loud noises. I wonder if he needed hearing protection when the blasting cap blew two fingers off...

1 or 2 cuts with a saw? why bother. more than that? the muffs go on. The comfort level is more than worth it.

 

[ts39136]

Yes, Good thread. Interesting about it might be genetic, cause my family has hearing loss. I get the ringing and can't hear the alarm clock (tone deaf).

If I do not wear hearing protection now, it hurts. Litterally makes me want to run away and hide. Even a single sledge hammer blow to a piece of metal will keep my ears ringing for a few weeks. I carry a small case with ear plugs in it almost everywhere. It makes work a lot less tiring when your not cringing from the noise, too.

 

[bluestem]

We have our hearing tested every year at work, I'm 31 have been working with loud equipment for about 8 years now, have always worn hearing protection, now I'll put plugs in under the muffs. When we get our results back I always like to compare them with the guys that have been working for 20 or 30 years and didn't wear anything for the first 15 or 20, it's pretty amazing how well those little plugs work, I haven't lost range in my right ear, and only slightly in my left.