Hearing Protection

[Charlie Self]

I've got several brands--the most comfortable, thus the most used, are a pair of AOSafety folding ear muffs. I try to always keep a set of muffs on the jointer, planer and table saw and near the router table as well. Emphasize the tools with universal motors, which are the noisiest. Wearing hearing protection all the time any power tool is in use is probably a good idea.

I've got several types of the "in your ear" kind, and find they do generally work a little better, but are something of a nuisance to get in and sometimes to keep in. They are also sometimes harder to FIND, so for two reasons, they're less likely to be used.

Wish I'd started wearing hearing protection 40 years or so ago. Now, any of the protectors are a stopgap to try to retain what hearing is left for as long as possible.

Charlie Self "Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." Edgar Bergen, (Charlie McCarthy)

[Unisaw A100]

One word, Peltor.

UA100

[Ba r r y]

Don't limit yourself to muffs. Plugs are cheap, work with face shields and hard hats, and handy for hot, humid days. I keep some throwaways around just for the days when they are more comfortable and for visitors.

As for muffs, I like Peltor. I have some 29 and 31 dB NRR models that are comfy. I haven't seen a good set of muffs in home centers. Check gun shops, industrial supply houses (Grainger), and real tool stores. Our local BORGs only carry 21 dB models. Barry

[Ba r r y]

I've used them in light aircraft, and see no reason why they wouldn't work in a shop. I'd be nervous about dropping them.

However, earmuffs the cost of a 13" planer aren't my ideal solution.

Barry

[Ba r r y]

Reel mowers do a nice job, though. They're the standard golf course machine when ganged together.

Barry

[Doug Miller]

I use Peltor muff-type protectors. Comfortable and effective. A bit pricy, but this is not an area where you should be trying to cut costs: there's only ten or fifteen dollars difference between the Peltors and the cheapo home-center protectors that block only 2/3 as much sound.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

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[Charlie Self]

Barry responds:

Yes, well, we cut something like 1-1/2 acres. No thanks.

Given a choice, I wouldn't cut anything other than the pieces around my shop and in front of the house, but my wife removes that choice. So it's to Briggs & Stratton we go.

Charlie Self "Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." Edgar Bergen, (Charlie McCarthy)

[Bob G.]

=============================================== I am a Skeet and Trap shooter ...and until about 5 years ago I fired at least 500 rounds each week in competation, and more for practice...

I too prefer plugs over muffs ... (Lee Sonic is the brand I use...) However in my shop....I have not found I really need to use them...

Bob Griffiths. . .

[J. Clarke]

You might find this of interest . Bose isn't the only game in town.

Woodcraft has an active noise cancelling earmuff with no audio connection for 30 bucks

In the same price range as Bose, but a pro product, not a consumer product, and again with no music capability, you find "Wolf Ears", . I met someone who had a set of those at a shooting range one time and he let me try them--they are absolutely superb in that environment--not sure how they work with power tools though, but suspect they're fine. Note that they're built into a David Clark Model 27, which is an excellent passive hearing protector in its own right.

Or if price is no object, David Clark has a good range of electronic noise cancelling headsets in the $600 range .

[Buck Turgidson]

Consumer Reports recommended, and I tend to agree, that a belt/suspenders approach is best - muffs and plugs. The Howard Leight Orange plugs work very well. I find that spitting on them helps insert them in the ear. It grosses my wife out, though.

Then any muffs at the BORG will probably suffice.

[Kenneth]

Hey Buck,

Put them in your own ears...

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 03:54:44 GMT, patriarch calmly ranted:

Black powder-powered steel-and-composite perp-stopping tool. I use the muffs for range practice. When they had the machine-gun shoot, wearing both plugs and muffs was jusssssssst right. ;)

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[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 09:44:11 -0500, "Buck Turgidson" calmly ranted:

I can imagine. I like the orange bell-shaped plugs and use them inverted, wide side in. Since I sleep with them (Damned neighbor dogs), that way, my ears don't hurt in the morning. I sleep on my side so I found that the wide part made the outer part of my ear hurt when squished into a pillow for hours.

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[Brett A. Thomas]

The first time my eldest son (four years old) saw a gun was in a framing shop with me, where they were displaying their ability to put an object in a deep frame. As a result, I was caught completely flat-footed when he asked me what it was. "A machine for making holes over long distances" is what I came up with, and he spent a little while thinking a gun was kinda like a drill press for when you couldn't be bothered to walk over to whatever you were drilling in.

-BAT

[Buck Turgidson]

I never pack a suitcase without them either. I usually end up in a hotel with a bunch of conventioneers. Once I ended up in a Louisville Hotel which happened to be hosting the Kentucy State Funeral Director's convention. Thet're a lively crowd....

[Doug Winterburn]

Reminds me of a stay in a hotel that was housing the attendees of a Shriners convention. Too bad the funeral guys weren't there - while gathered in the hotel lounge, one of the Shriners dropped dead and fell backwards off his bar stool. His buddies covered him up with a table cloth, said a few words in his memory and continued pounding down their libations. I wasn't thirsty any longer...

-Doug

[Doug Miller]

Some years back, SWMBO talked me into going to a meeting of her garden club. Members and guests were asked to give their names and their favorite gardening tools. When it came around to me, I introduced myself and said that my favorite gardening tool was a twelve-gauge pump action rabbit remover. :-)

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

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[Dan D.]

[Dan D.]

Jerry, I bought a Peltor muff type hearing protector from Harbor Freight in Little Rock for about half the cost for the same model in wood working catelogs I've seen. Protection is 29-31 db. I forget the exact rating. I paid about 15-16 dollars. Much better than other protectors I've had and comfortable! Dan

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 09:48:32 -0800, "Brett A. Thomas" calmly ranted:

Let's hope you have shown him what a gun was by now. You have taught him to respect them and to stay away from them until he's old enough to safety-train, I hope?

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