Real men don't wear ear plugs

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I am 60 years old. I've raced motocross , done lots of pistol and rifle shooting an airline mechanic by trade exposed to riveting and countless engine take off power tests and been running chainsaws since I was young including a 5 year stint running them 24 hours a week. My hearing is equal to or better than most my age I have been a consistent user of plugs or muffs or the 2 combined. Im one of the few airline guys my age that doesn't have tinnitus. Use them you will appreciate it later in life
 
I am 60 years old. I've raced motocross , done lots of pistol and rifle shooting an airline mechanic by trade exposed to riveting and countless engine take off power tests and been running chainsaws since I was young including a 5 year stint running them 24 hours a week. My hearing is equal to or better than most my age I have been a consistent user of plugs or muffs or the 2 combined. Im one of the few airline guys my age that doesn't have tinnitus. Use them you will appreciate it later in life
I am 49 hearing Niagara falls in my ear whenever its quiet and I "should" hear the birds sing or actually go to sleep.
You? That's like an 11year old baby telling me to plug it.
 
My tinnitus seems to come and go. Sometimes I have the ringing, mostly in my left ear, I assume it's because it's the ear closest to the muffler on most chainsaws. You won't find any saws in my bunch that have a modified muffler except my 290 made into a 390 and it's not modified much..
 
I have never used ear plugs in my life.
Because I have tiny ear canals and they do not fit, or if I can get them in there - they hurt like hell within a short period of time.
If I ever go to a Doctors for any kind of otoscope examination, they have to use the tip designed for infants- so I have relied heavily on earmuffs only for hearing protection over the years and being currently over 50 of those years borrowing oxygen- I can still hear a gnat fart.
 
I have 90% loss in my left ear. Most of the damage is from one instance where a muzzle brake equipped 300 weatherby was shot off to my side. Never been right since.
I also have damage in the other ear. A lifetime of shooting, racing bikes, racing sleds and a working career in heavy industry will do it and I am religious about wearing hearing protection.
One thing to keep in mind is that those bark box/ straight shot muffler are nasty loud and you will damage your hearing without using the highest NRR plugs and muffs you can find. Even that might not be enough.
 
If there is a perfect solution, I'm still searching for it. I have been smacked in the face, Not Fun. Eyes are number 1. I can deal with a scar, but an empty eye socket is a game changer.
Yep, I got one of those empty eye sockets, work related, not saws but best to be careful
 
I am 60 years old. I've raced motocross , done lots of pistol and rifle shooting an airline mechanic by trade exposed to riveting and countless engine take off power tests and been running chainsaws since I was young including a 5 year stint running them 24 hours a week. My hearing is equal to or better than most my age I have been a consistent user of plugs or muffs or the 2 combined. Im one of the few airline guys my age that doesn't have tinnitus. Use them you will appreciate it later in life
I thought some of the comments were quite interesting since I grew up in Washington State. I am 70 now and raced at the Tri Cities tracks, Spokane, Yakima, Zillah, Washougal and a couple of the coastal tracks. I raced with Jim Pomeroy in his early years when his dad sold Maicos. I realized that being around tuned exhaust and other race motors that hearing was important. About thirty years ago I started putting foam plugs into my pocket every morning. A neighbor was sealing some seams on a house with this foam tubing. I cut plenty of one inch sections from that foam and found that it reduced about seventy five percent of all sounds. So with about fifty yards of foam tubing I will have plenty of lifetimes of ear plugs. Surprisingly I can hear better than my son. My eyesight is a different matter as I am quite nearsighted. I can hear from both parties when he is talking on the phone. Thanks
 
I got to ride with Jim Pomeroy back in the day when I was a member of the motorcycle club that ran the Jolly Roger's track on Kent's west hill. Him Chuck Sun and Buck murphy showed up on one of our closed practice days learned a lot in a hurry.
 
Instead prefer to slowly go deaf.

My safety helmet/face shield/hearing protection is a PITA.

I have had a separate helmet, and the mesh goggles, and have finally order some cost efficient light weight ear buds.

This is the way to go for us boys that like to hear a movie rather then read the subtitles. Reading 'Loud Explosion' just isn't the same as hearing it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072LCHV2S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
i like my Protos helmet
 
When it comes to these old threads, I usually read every post before realizing the thread is several years old. 7 pages this time. Just goes to show that there is plenty of good advice to be found and some of the orginal contributers are still around.
As for ear plugs and hearing loss, I have papers saying I cant hear, not totally deaf, but there are certain frequencies I cant hear at all. I would guess my problem started when as a kid I would run a old pioneer saw that was so loud it would actually make your eardrum vibrate. Never even heard of hearing protection back then. My shooting back then was mostly limited to 22 long rifle, I was 15 before getting my first shotgun. Still have it. At 19, I went to work for the railroad as a laborer and then machine operator. Those old tiemasters all had those 671 detroit's that would wake the dead. Back then, the railroad didnt have any hearing protection requirements. A lot of the old timers ran around saying What! all the time. It took a lawsuit before the railroad started requireing hearing protection. They treated eye protection pretty much the same way as hearing protection. Only required eye protection at all times after another lawsuit where someone lost an eye from flying debri. After the lawsuits, the railroad started requireing testing for hearing loss and that is when I found out I had lost a lot of hearing. I didnt realize how bad my hearing had become, I thought I could hear fine. Anyways, hearing loss is tough when you cant hear your hunting dogs running on a trail, or your granddaughters keep saying your name and you dont hear her. Wife says I have selective hearing, but the truth is if I aint looking at her, I actually dont hear her. Protect you hearing and your eyes, It doesnt magicly heal itself when you get older.
 
Have worn ear protection since osha regs required at the cannery but forgot when using power tools building a home & working in a wood shop Best investment I ever made was buying a Radio shack decibel tester. You'll be surprised how many things are too loud for your ear health after using the tester: belt sander,Router, circular saw, even a fence post pounder, the heavy equipment with a partially good muffler ( In high school in 68 the straight pipe on an International M tractor) your wive's vacuum cleaner, some kitchen appliances.
You don't know until you test them. I would like to see something higher than ear plugs and MMM 32 db muffs for my 038 , ms 500I in a muff. We ave muffs all over the property; and yes my wife uses earmuffs when vacuuming. Protect your hearing Like Joni Mitchell "you don't miss it until it's gone"
 
Surefire makes a great set of ear plugs for around $10. They are extremely comfortable to wear all day and most Walmarts carry them.
 
Have worn ear protection since osha regs required at the cannery but forgot when using power tools building a home & working in a wood shop Best investment I ever made was buying a Radio shack decibel tester. You'll be surprised how many things are too loud for your ear health after using the tester: belt sander,Router, circular saw, even a fence post pounder, the heavy equipment with a partially good muffler ( In high school in 68 the straight pipe on an International M tractor) your wive's vacuum cleaner, some kitchen appliances.
You don't know until you test them. I would like to see something higher than ear plugs and MMM 32 db muffs for my 038 , ms 500I in a muff. We ave muffs all over the property; and yes my wife uses earmuffs when vacuuming. Protect your hearing Like Joni Mitchell "you don't miss it until it's gone"
There are DB meter phone apps. I wonder how accurate they are.
 
Wish I had my earplugs in today!

Was working around a tree, lots of brush and branches around it and BOINK!!!! A stick shoves right into my right ear! Hurt weirdly for a few minutes, no blood but I can't hear 90% of the noise around me currently. Went to the clinic as a walk in, nurse took a look and told me there was nothing in there but the ear canal looks like it had some road rash to it. He couldn't confirm the eardrum being pierced or not so off to the doctor tomorrow morning.

Should be interesting
 

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