Ear Plug/Hearing Protection Poll


When do you wear 'em, if at all?
What do you think about the noisy world we live in?
Is one kind better than others?
NYC residents - do you wear them on the train.

I wear earplugs quite alot. Mowing the lawn, riding the subway in NYC, flying in planes.
robertd
I wear them in airplanes, around construction and power tools, shooting my handguns (plus Peltor head set ), public places where amplification is too loud or too bright, and movie theatres where sound track is above comfortable level.

I carry disposable earplugs in my camera bag and use them and offer to my wife and son whenever we are in above situations. My wife usually refuses, my son usually accepts.

Son usually takes disposable plugs to school dances and parties where the DJ's get carried away with their crappy sound systems. Of course also at live rock concerts like Blink 182 / Green Day he recently attended.
Hello,
I wear an earplug in one ear due to loss of high frquency
hearing loss. Hearing loss is cumulative, so protection at the first sign can help prevent further loss, so I wear one while driving, using lawn equipment, power tools. Unfortunately, I do not while listening to music because of the effect it would have on listening enjoyment, but you have to have some fun! Surgery can help if the hearing loss
is not caused by nerve damage to the auditory nerve, but unfortunately is the most common. Long term exposure to noise above 85db can cause hearing loss, which is equal to
loud conversation. A single gunshot, which produces 140-170db is equal to 40 hours of exposure at 90db levels. So,
be careful! I use earplugs of the foam variety, which reduce
noise to about 30db, and are easy to use and inexpensive.
I also wear plugs as the above posters stated but also wear them while using power tools. Sometimes in my travels I wear them to fall asleep as noise levels can be bothersome.

I use the foam type made by E.A.R. that are uniformly cylindrical. Very comfortable.
I spend considerable time tuning race motors on the dyno and always wear protection. I'm proud of the fact that I was the first local racer to install a really good exhaust system on my drag car which actually made the car faster.

Compressed air systems are very damaging to hearing. Beware of air powered tools and such.

I listen to music loud so will eventually pay the price for it, maybe.
Best earplugs I've used are called 'Flents' and are a sort of moldable waxy-cotton plug. 'What do I think of the noisy world we live in?' I'd love to move further out into the country, as far away as possible from neighbors who crank their sterios so loud I can hear it in my house 2 doors down. Or howabout people that have to have their car or pick-up sterio blasting in the driveway while they wash it or clean it or fix it. There really should be a law against people blasting their 'boom-boom' car sterios as they drive up and down the street, rattling the whole house and windows; sometimes these idiots drive up and down my street several times back and forth. Bottom line is people need to keep their noise to themselves, but you just try and tell 'em!