R
Rob Z
This is for all the younger guys out there.....
I don't want to be preachy, so don't take this the wrong way.
Consider getting squared away ASAP with protectiing your hearing. I have tried to be a good role model for the men that work with me. I buy hearing protection and demand that they use it. They have gotten so they do so without me having to tell them. They are a lot younger that I am and I think they got the habit developed in time.
I started some years ago being quite religious about using the best hearing protection that I could find (meaning highest dB reduction rating), and making it a point to use it every time I used a power tool. I have gotten so that I frequently will use both the soft foam inserts in combination with the hard shell over-the-ear headgear.
I thought I had gotten started in time, but it turns out I didn't. The irony of this is that for years I took a bunch of grief from all the guys on the job because I had to put on the hearing protection before each cut, and after all of that I'm the one with this damn ringing in my ears.
I have tinnitus now, and it's starting to really affect me. I can't tolerate loud noises or the jumble of sounds such as we all hear in the crowd at the mall or a sporting event. At best, I am disoriented by those sounds; at worst I get a splitting headache. The drone of noise puts me on edge and I get irritable because of it.
It's my own fault, because for years I ran chainsaws, table saws, tile saws, planers, routers, you name it....all without any hearing protection. Firearms, nailguns, demolition hammers and machinery have all caused damage to my hearing.
When I was young no one said anything about it. I hope by posting this that some of the younger guys on the forum will start taking care of their hearing. It's not that hard or time consuming to always protect your hearing each time you use a saw or other loud tool.
I don't want to be preachy, so don't take this the wrong way.
Consider getting squared away ASAP with protectiing your hearing. I have tried to be a good role model for the men that work with me. I buy hearing protection and demand that they use it. They have gotten so they do so without me having to tell them. They are a lot younger that I am and I think they got the habit developed in time.
I started some years ago being quite religious about using the best hearing protection that I could find (meaning highest dB reduction rating), and making it a point to use it every time I used a power tool. I have gotten so that I frequently will use both the soft foam inserts in combination with the hard shell over-the-ear headgear.
I thought I had gotten started in time, but it turns out I didn't. The irony of this is that for years I took a bunch of grief from all the guys on the job because I had to put on the hearing protection before each cut, and after all of that I'm the one with this damn ringing in my ears.
I have tinnitus now, and it's starting to really affect me. I can't tolerate loud noises or the jumble of sounds such as we all hear in the crowd at the mall or a sporting event. At best, I am disoriented by those sounds; at worst I get a splitting headache. The drone of noise puts me on edge and I get irritable because of it.
It's my own fault, because for years I ran chainsaws, table saws, tile saws, planers, routers, you name it....all without any hearing protection. Firearms, nailguns, demolition hammers and machinery have all caused damage to my hearing.
When I was young no one said anything about it. I hope by posting this that some of the younger guys on the forum will start taking care of their hearing. It's not that hard or time consuming to always protect your hearing each time you use a saw or other loud tool.
