The older I get, the more I regret being stupid about my body when I was younger. It ages, you know, and things fail, especially muscles and joints. My Stihl helmet/muffs/mask combo is great at noise reduction, as long as the seal on the muffs is solid. But I have additional earplugs if I think they will become necessary over time.
As it stands, though I've listened to a LOT of loud rock music, been around loud machinery without ear protection in the Colorado mines, and had two wives (exes now) who were louder than air compression jackhammers, I can still hear someone whisper "beer" from four city blocks away. Conversely, I can't hear my wife at all for five feet away when she talks about the honey-do list.
#### it! If you think it's worth protecting, protect it. Everything wears out eventually, even the Stihl 044!