Hearing protection with biscuit jointer

[Keith Carlson]

may be similar to what you had. I have a box of 200 pair which will probably last me years, even using them out in the garage, mowing, at drag races, etc.

[Mark & Juanita]

The set of 100 pairs I bought almost 10 years ago is just about out -- Looks like Enco will be getting an order from me, I like the orange foam plugs better than the yellow ones I have almost used up.

Yes, I do use hearing protection with most tools, the biscuit joiner is one of those tools that seems to fall into the gray area, and I was curious how others approach its use. My main issue is either having those plugs in for extended periods -- they get uncomfortable after about 45 minutes, or having to remove and put them back in multiple times.

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 04:44:45 GMT, "Keith Carlson" brought forth from the murky depths:

I don't need: a) $35 worth of plugs .or. b) another 400 plugs. Want to sell 10 or 12 pair? They'd fit in a #10 envelope.

--- - Sarcasm is just one more service we offer. -

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[Dave Mundt]

Greetings and Salutations.

On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 12:49:05 GMT, B a r r y B u r k e J r . wrote:

Well, thought I would chime in with a thought here too. I have been pretty religious for quite a number of years about wearing ear protection when I expect to be near loud noises. I used to go to rock concerts back in the 60s, and, the ringing and temporary deafness afterwards was a warning to me that it could be permanent. I have a couple of sets of muffs in the shop, and, (easier to find) a box of 100 sets of corded earplugs, and, I use them. The fact of the matter is that the ear is an amazingly sensitive instrument. It can hear the most subtle sounds, but, NOT if it is flooded with too much OTHER sound. I find that when I run the riding lawnmower, and DON'T wear protection, I can hardly hear myself think. All I hear is the roar of the motor. When I wear earplugs, I can hear the "whish" of the belts on the drives, and, the jingle of the pins holding the deck on the mower. Because I am eliminating the firehose spray of noise, I can hear the subtle variations. In the shop, with the router, tablesaw, etc, I find the same thing holds. Granted my Unisaw is not a REAL roaring monster, but, I know that I can hear the teeth singing in the wood when I am wearing protection, and cannot hear it for the other noises when not wearing protection. As for the "study" that says that only very sudden, loud noises cause long-term damage...I don't think I would trust even two or three studies that reported this. I would have to see a LOT of proof. It is my picture of reality that the snail-like inner ear is lined with millions of cilia, with each "hair" pickup being tuned to a different frequency. When we "hear" that frequency, the vibrations in the ear couple with the appropriate cilia, and, when the cilia wave back and forth, it stimulates a nerve and sends an impulse down the auditory nerve. Those cilia, like metal, can "fatigue" and break off...and when they do, we lose a bit of ability to sense a given frequency. The speed with which these cilia break off is a function of intensity (how far the cilia bend) and and how LONG the sound lasts (how much bending back and forth the cilia has to do). So...REALLY intense sounds, or, long-term sounds at a given frequency can cause the loss of ability to hear. As an analogy...I could take an ax and whack your hand off at the wrist...or I could take a steak knife, and saw it off, slowly...taking a couple of days. In either case, the hand will be gone. It is my feeling that auditory damage ALWAYS happens when the sound level reaches a certain level (110 db, or something like that) and that it is CUMULATIVE...so the best thing to do is protect, protect, protect. As another example...I used to work with Data General Nova computers, when I worked in a third-party hardware maintenance shop. The switching power supplies had this REALLY annoying whistle at about 18-20 kHz. The hardware guys could not hear it, but, it bothered the heck out of me. They did not believe me, but, I could tell them accurately when they switched the PS on and off, even if I was in another room. They worked with the sound day in and day out...and had developed "flat spots" in their hearing. Mine was still relatively intact, so I could hear the sound and they could not. It was not a LOUD sound, but, it was ALWAYS there. Sorry for the length of posting, but, I have become kind of a Herbert about this topic. I was only given one set of ears, and, have not found where to trade them in for new so have come to believe that ear (and EYE) protection is terribly important. Regards Dave Mundt

[Mark]

But with the steak knife you have fresh meat longer.

;]

I to have tinnitus. It's with me from the time I wake to the time I go to sleep. And it sucks. I was listening to the radio today and on comes a Xylophone (Yeah, PBS/NPR). The quality of the sound was almost eye water painful. At times the EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE is so loud it almost takes on a physical presence and I can't believe noone else can hear it.

Which of course they can't. It's all in my head.

At times it takes on a ringing like being cuffed in the ear.

And get togethers with the extended family is always a joy. Their full blooded Italians from the old country. They make so much frigging noise I can't stand it. Within a half hour I'm ready to ... do something unsocial.

I would suggest wearing hearing protection, unless you don't want to have a quiet moment again. Ever.

PS: Wife and I have changed health insurence so I'm going to start the roundy rounds with a new set of doctors. Lets see if I can get this set to do anything.

[B a r r y B u r k e J r .]

On a whole 'nuther level!

Barry

[Andy Dingley]

I like the 3M disposables in the aluminium case.

're cheap, they work, and the cases are so damn useful that I'm always buying more of them, just for the box. So I always have plenty of the plugs going spare.

For forestry, I wear these underneath my earmuffs. Hat-mounted earmuffs don't always give as good a seal as free-floating muffs, so there's sometimes a high-frequency leak around them that the foam plugs mop up.

-- What ? Me ? Evil Dictator of Iraq ? Nah mate, I'm just a Hobbit, honest

[Doug Miller]

That's why I use earmuffs. They don't attenuate sound quite as well as the plugs, but they do a much better job of protecting hearing -- because you will use them more often because they're more comfortable and convenient.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[Silvan]

Most of them are like that during the day. They get active in the wee hours, when the freaks are about.

You have NC beat 40:1 on tittie bars. You let your money magnets get completely naked too, which most states don't.

I'm glad we have some community standards here. :) I have nothing against those places, but I'm stodgy enough to think that children and debauchery shouldn't mix.

[Silvan]

One-eye-talian... You should have warned me first. Got a towel?

(Glad you were wearing the seatbelt. I was wearing them before they became compulsory too, incidentally, though I was just a five year old in '77.)

[John]

On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 09:38:38 GMT, Mark wrotg: [snip]

I can see you've been there. For me it's the flute, and most music as played on the radio. The high frequency distorted harsh sound. Real physical pain. Yet it doesn't bother any one else. It's almost funny, it's a hearing problem yet your ears are more sensitive to some sounds than with normal hearing.

Yep, any time at all in a crowd and I'm ready to run as fast as I can to get out.

Amen

Hope you find some relief soon, and when you do, if you would be so kind to let us know what helped.

John, ringing away in Minnesota.

[nospam]

I bet you'd recognize a few of those freaks if you hung around there at that time of night. folks you thought were so straightlaced at the office....

[Chris]

Mark,

From what I have learned, there is little that can be done about the ringing, but I would check into it anyway. Maybe some new discovery...

As for the loud Italian family - I have it on both sides, mine and my wife's. I have found the ear muffs work well, but can offend the sensibilites of some of the old timers. If you wear ear plugs and keep your hair long, they can't tell. Eliminates the holiday-headache syndrome too!

-Chris

[Mark]

I don't hold out much hope.

Last time I went to a ear/eye/nose/throat specialist he examined me and said there was nothing he could do for my ears but he could fix my nose. ??? But it's not my sinuses driving me nuts.

My tinnitus started with noise but has been aggravated by a neck injury (disks protruding into my spine). I have imperical evidence. I lifted something heavy the ringing/ eeee got worse. Before that if I slept wrong I would have a hum. I could cite all sorts of experiences. I told this to a neck surgeon who said he never heard of this so it was highly unlikely, I told my primary physician who said it was impossible.

Doctors, make a direct observation, they tell you what you have experienced didn't happen. I do a little web research and it seems some auditory phenomena can be traced to the brain stem. Go figure.

Doctors ....

If I had hair it may be an option (another doctor story).

Part of the problem is, in my Celtic-Austrian family, when there was that much ... noise ... someone was either getting their ass kicked or about to. When Ma squawked it was time to duck. Allot of the in-law noise problem is my upbringing verses the in-laws culture. Add tinnitus and it becomes explosive.

To be fair, Wife and I would visit her parents and have a perfectly fine time. It's only when her siblings are involved. To be even more fair, I don't do crowds well at all.

Then there's the thing where the neighbors dog barks at least 100 feet away that makes distorted noises in my ears.

Yeah, folks, wear hearing protection. You don't want any part of this. I thought it was bad when it was mild. Now that it's worse I think it's bad. I don't want to know how much worse it can get. And I haven't really addressed the depression/ distress part of this condition.

[Charles Spitzer]

i had this. look into an acd.

fixed me right up. i can walk better, and regained feeling in my fingers.

took doctors about 20 years to find the problem in me, 3 different ones in the past 5 years alone.

regards, charlie cave creek, az

[Silvan]

What gets me is the noise CRTs make when they're sitting there warmed up, but not scanning. Sets my teeth on edge.

[Mark]

.

Bookmarked. Thanks.

I've known I was looking at a double fusion for several years, and I'll admit I'm a coward about it. I've done some dangerous things, even screwed up a few times and hurt myself. That's completely different than

*knowing* it's going to happen.

[Larry Jaques]

On Wed, 17 Dec 2003 18:21:16 -0500, Silvan brought forth from the murky depths:

Yeah, I can take any fingernails on a blackboard but give me the high-pitched whine of a CRT or failing PCB circuit (or the feel of some types of frosted glass) and my nerves go wild.

-- Remember: Every silver lining has a cloud. ----

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