Earplugs

[Glenn]

Do you wear earplugs?

When is time to use them? When you use the anvil that rings, the power hammer, heavy noise from motors, etc.

Do you use them when welding?

Are some styles better than others?

[yesteryearforge]

WHAT ?
Could you please repeat that ?

[HWooldridge]

I used to wear a pair when power hammering but do not follow that habit anymore. My anvils are tied down and don't ring so that is not a problem.

I lost a large portion of my hearing in the shooting sports so blacksmithing comes in a distant second for me but I would recommend plugs or ear muffs for younger people who want to keep the auditory aids at bay a while longer.

[Finnr]

Shooting cost me a good part of my hearing so now to blacksmith I just turn my hearing aids off. They make excellent ear plugs.
Finnr

[jimbob]

I don't. I worked in an old telephone switching office for so long I can't hear some sounds...mostly my wife.
I guess if Iwas just getting into blacksmithing I would because the hearing loss just slips up on you...one day you notice you just can't hear like you used too.

[jj2k]

I always ear muffs when power hammering. Otherwise I don't wear any ear plugs. I don't like the idea of sticking stuff in my ear. (grin) I have suffered quite a bit of hearing loss over the years due to several activities that I have taken part in that have damaged my hearing. In some frequencies it has been quite severe.

[ThomasPowers]

I generally wear ear muffs---industrial safety ones---most any time I am in the shop; or mowing the lawn, or cutting wood, or on long drives in my noisy old truck, or when I'm trying to read and my wife is listening to the TV and has it very loud because she lost her hearing.

They are comfortable and I enjoy *not* hearing the gasser, grinder, power tools. The good ones will let you hold a conversation while wearing them; though it does help if you are facing the person talking.

Ear plugs bother me---I once got pressure sores in my ears wearing them in a factory; so I usually only wear them on airplanes.

I learned in the factory that when I wore hearing protection I was not nearly as tired when I got off work as when I skipped it!

[Mark Parkinson]

I wear earmuffs when cutting, grinding and welding not so much for the noise as to keep thosse bouncing sparks and welding berries out :(

[chainsaw]

I also have lost a lot of hearing due to shooting and am trying to protect what I have left. I ALWAYS wear ear plugs ( hearing loss is progressive) and after trying many many types the best I have found are sold in the drug store and are sold for use as protection from getting water in your ear when swimming. They are kind of wax like and really are comfortable and block the noise. I also wear ear "muffs" ( good ones) when on the power hammer and when using the chainsaw or grinder. Protect the hearing you have folks, no good reason not to, in my opinion. What? say again, I missed that!!

[J W Bennett]

Very rarely do I wear them in the shop. I have to wear them at work all day but I don't continue the practice at home. Using a hand air hammer to cut barrels and such is about it.

John

[Dutchmancreek]

I was involved in some very noisy activities back in 1970 and already have some hearing loss. My Hay Budden rings like a bell if I don't have magnets under it and have it spiked down. It's quieter then but I still often use a set of muffs.

Steve

[Marc]

I only use mine when running noisy machines, such as an angle grinder. And also when using the treadle hammer. But my anvil is a Fisher and is pretty quiet.

I use those non-disposable in-the-ear plugs.

[Bentiron1946]

My advice is to WEAR THEM! I have over 40% from not using them for shooting, woodworking, metalsmithing, rock n' roll and the Navy boiler room. Now I have a hard time understanding conversation even with the help of amplification. Nothing can replace lost hearing so wear plugs, muffs or whatever to limit the damage. Also watch out for the MP3 players as some play them so loud I thought about taking out stock in hearing aid companies to help pay for my nursing home care.:D

[Archie Zietman]

Seems like I'm in the minority here, but I wear earmuffs most any time I'm in the shop, it's a big bare cement building, and echoes are terribly awefully loud. So I protect my ears when I'm heating and pounding, when I'm grinding and drilling, whenever I make noise. I'm only 17, so want to keep my hearing as long as possible. :D

[latvius]

I were ear plugs or muffs depending on how hot or cold it is outside (muffs keep my ears warm in tthe winter). I wear them anytime I use the anvil, power tools, mower or anything loud.
I would think people with hearing loss would be more apt to wear them to protect what they have left, then again, I guess if the loud noise is not loud to you then it is not damaging your hearing?

[Dodge]

Ever since I came home from work and the ringing in my ears was the same pitch as the running water in the kitchen sink and it hurt, (yup. That's tinnitus), I have worn ear plugs when doing any work that produces as much or more noise than a vacuum cleaner. I wear the yellow foam ear plugs by E.A.R. E-A-R Hearing Protection Products
Very comfortable and very effective!!!

[pete46]

My X Wife Used To Say I Never Listened To Her!
When I Finally Took Out My Ear Plugs ;she Was Gone!
Man I Love Those Things!!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

[agsolder]

I wear Howard Leight earmuffs, got 'em from MSC, when possible (they won't fit under a protective face mask, so then I wear plugs) if I am hammering something that will hurt my ears, like thin sheet on the anvil, and always when grinding, running the bandsaw, chopsaw, etc. Problem with plugs, I have read, is that a lot of injurious sound waves are transmitted via the thin bone of the skull behind the ears, and muffs, but not plugs, will block that. So you think you are protected but you ain't.

[mtforge]

I have always worn ear protection in the factories where I worked so I could protect my hearing. In my shop I like to listen to a radio or cd so I use ear pods and ear muffs over them. I take the ear muffs off if I'm doing quiet work. I have two daughters that helped me out over their summer break from college and they also get ear muffs and other safety items as needed.

[the_sandy_creek_forge]

I use this general rule of thumb. Put the daughter in the truck and turn up the stereo to what I would consider a safe volume for her little 4.5 year old ears. Anything consistently louder than that, I try to wear ear plugs. My brother has a pair of those fancy-schmancy auto-muffling earmuffs. I tried those once, but they gave me a headache wearing them (everything sounded like it was echoing through a half-blown out speaker). I like the plugs that are connected with a cord, string, whatever. Usually I just keep them around my neck, that way it only take me 10 minutes to find them instead of 20 :)
-Aaron @ the SCF

[Ten Hammers]

In the latter part of my 17th year and 3 years afterward I worked on a Jet Aircraft flight line. Plugs and ears were of course provided and I wore them most of the time. Noisy shops and firearms ( before and after the Navy ) have not helped. Genetics play an issue in my hearing loss as well. Consider this. When you have Grandkids later in life you will wish to be able to hear them when they talk. Protect your hearing.

[Frosty]

I wear ear and eye protection for most processes in the shop and lots outside it.

I was an exploration driller for 19 years, standing about 5' behind the exhaust stack of a Detroit Diesel. Even wearing earplugs AND muffs a day on the drill stand would leave my ears ringing.

Protect your hearing and anything else you may want to use later in life.

Frosty

[gerald]

I wear ear muffs when using a chop saw or angle grinder. Sometimes at the belt grinder when I'm using certain belts.

[son_of_bluegrass]

I wear ear plugs (the foam type rated at NRR 25 or higher) for anything and everything involving power equipment or hammers or that I find annoying (like movie theaters that are always too loud). If I could find a comfortable pair of muffs ( I need glasses to see and that makes muffs uncomfortable) I'd probably wear both for loud stuff.

ron

[Anvilfolk]

I sweat a lot, so I prefer ear-plugs instead of muffs. Like Aaron said, the ones connected by a string are great. You barely notice them when they're around your neck, and only slightly more with them in your ears. They're really nice. I used them whenever I was on the angle-grinder, power-hammer, working cold sheet steel, etc. If you don't have ringing anvils and your metal is hot, hammering doesn't produce that much noise.

Speaking of which, I remember the ones (anvils) I learnt on having a few layers of lead sheet beneath their base. It should absorb some of the noise, I think.