Is anvil ringing bad for hearing?

[David Einhorn]

I usually carry a set of disposable foam 29 decibel ear plugs in my pocket every where I go. I buy them by the box.

[Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver]

Huh?

[WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith]

I like a good heavy well welded 3 legged stand then caulk the anvil to the stand. You will be amazed how much that will dampen the sound. The stand is ridged and by making the anvil and stand one piece you have also increased the effective weight of the anvil.

[RandyScott]

A lot of good info in the preceding posts... my loss is a result of an M80 detonating at arms length while looking at it, a motorcycle with no muffler, a big V8 with little if any muffler (back in the days of big iron), loud bands and a couple of years around F4's. In post #21 is a link to some really good info on sound and, if you scroll down, there is a chart of extra-loud sounds, up to 190 decibels. However, just stuffing your ears does not resolve the problem.

Sound is conveyed in two methods, via the ears and via bone. Ear plugs and ear muffs block the sound conveyed down the ear canal to the ear drum, via the hammer, anvil and stirrup and then into your cochlea. Bone, your skull, conveys the sound directly to your cochlea as the cochlea is encased in bone. The cochlea converts that energy into an electrical signal to your brain which interprets that signal to be a certain sound. Long term exposure to sound damages the 15,000 - 30,000 hairs in your cochlea to the point they cannot generate a signal.. therefore no sound perceived by the brain. So it is true! if you have profound hearing loss and a tree falls in the forest, it does not make a sound.. that you can hear!

Long term exposure over a certain level is cumulative and irreversible. The higher the decibel level, the shorter the time till damage has occurred. Extra high decibel level exposure can instantly and permanently damage your hearing. Most of the ear plugs I see only reduce the decibel level approx 30 decibels. so if you are shooting high power rifles with a wad of cotton in your ears, you still are receiving approx 120 decibels into the cochlea and damage will occur. Same is true in an industrial environment, or with anvils, or large power hammers.

Deaden sound as best possible, wear hearing protection, and get your hearing checked.

Also, if you have kids make sure their electronic devices can limit the amount of sound put into the ear buds, some of them can put huge amounts of sound out and they will have hearing loss in their early twenties.

[Woody]

see this link to the OSHA Noise Standard http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=9735 it is not only the loudness of the noise, any noise, but also the amount of time one is exposed to it. The louder it is, the less exposure time it takes to damage hearing. Hearing protection should be worn any time the noise level is over 85 db. Remember to check the db level of the hearing protection. That is the amount of sound over the acceptable level that the device will protect you from. Surprisingly enough, cheap foam ear plugs usually have a higher rating than more expensive ear muffs.