Hearing protection

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I use these that I buy from WalMart.  Rated at 33dB.  Super comfy.  I wear them ww'ing, at concerts, on my motorcycle, when I take a nap.  I just wish they came in a bigger box.

[R Clark]

I use these:

3M Foam Ear Plugs

I've worked in many different loud military environments over the years and found these most comfortable for me.  I've gotten so used to them that I can sleep with them in my ear and I can wear them for many hours on end.  I find that I can easily carry on normal conversation with them in place. 

The 3M plugs are reusable; I keep using the same pair until they get so dirty that not even I will put them in my ear.

[Bill Wilson]

I use nothing but the foam ear plugs.  I like the ones on the cord, so I can hang them around my neck when not in use.  I've been wearing them for years in the shop and when running OPE like chainsaw, lawnmower, snowblower, etc. 

They are 3M brand & look like this.



They are the same ones we use here at work.  I did try some I ordered from Grizzly but I don't like them as much.  They're tapered and the foam is much softer than the 3M.  They don't seem to stay in as well.

[Cooler]

I like these Etymotic Research Standard ETY
https://www.etymotic.com/er20hd.html

You can look around. They are available from a lot of places.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Etymotic-ER20...3=&veh=sem

I have the Etymotic earbuds (for audio listening).  They block out almost 100% of the outside noise.  They are not as comfortable as some of the other quality earbuds, but they have been reviewed as "reference grade" earphones.  But that means no overboosted bass which I've become accustomed to.  And pricey too.  Up another $50.00 since I bought them:

https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research...VE4G6SOT2C

I cannot concentrate with music playing so I do not  use them for earplugs when woodworking.

[AgGEM]

I wear earplugs and muffs.

After being stupid in my youth, I have tinnitus in both ears so I am doing all that I can to protect the hearing I have left.

+1.

Disposable plugs plus head muffs. The $40 pair at HD. They work well with eyeglasses too. Don't mess with the cheap HD muffs. They just break, and have half the protection.
Ag

[cvillewood]

Has anyone used Eye Muffs?
https://www.amazon.com/Eye-Muffs-Combine...th=1&psc=1

[Anak]

I use nothing but the foam ear plugs.  I like the ones on the cord, so I can hang them around my neck when not in use.  I've been wearing them for years in the shop and when running OPE like chainsaw, lawnmower, snowblower, etc. 

They are 3M brand & look like this.



They are the same ones we use here at work.  I did try some I ordered from Grizzly but I don't like them as much.  They're tapered and the foam is much softer than the 3M.  They don't seem to stay in as well.

I understand exactly what Peter is talking about with glasses and earmuffs.  Yes, you can wear the two together, but the earmuffs cause the glasses to dig into your skull.  It gets old quickly.

I am with Bill on the corded variants.  The ones I use are a little different than the link, but they are all pretty much the same idea.  I ordered an entire box of them from Gemplers.  When not in use I hang them from their cord, and as long as they stay clean I keep using them.  It will be a number of years before I need another box.

[CanoeBoy]

https://www.grainger.com/product/HONEYWE...ured-6XF59

Wear them every day at work. Very comfortable and the best I've found in sub-zero temps. Find a lot of them in the clothes dryer from my jeans pocket and reuse them no problems.

[TDKPE]

I use these:

3M Foam Ear Plugs

We have similar ones at work, orange straight-taper foam but with a blue plastic cord, which really helps to keep from losing them.  They must get them by the pallet load, as there are hundreds of guys in the fab shops and they're all using them.  

   

They don't stay in my ears very well.  The right is worse than left (also true of standard Apple ear buds for the iPhone).  I should probably find some better plugs that stay in better.  Even with my bombed-out screaming tinnitus hearing, plugs/phones are necessary in the shops, especially when someone is air arcing, which is actually painful, even 100 ft away in those antique glass walled buildings.

Muffs I find annoying.  My noise muffs are cheap, though, and very old (like 35 years old?) with plastic cushions, so maybe that's why they're annoying to wear.  

I can only use audio headphones for so long, too, before they too become annoying.  Sennheiser HD600's, with foam cushions, open-air style, so not cheap.  Maybe I'm just not cut out for muffs and 'phones.

[Timberwolf]

Hello all,

Does anyone use ear plugs for hearing protection?

What would you recommend?

I wear glasses and the muffs are getting annoying and the cheap HF ones that I'm using have me wondering if they are doing that much good.

So before I look to get a good pair of ear muffs I wanted to see about some quality ear plugs.

Thanks

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I had a good friend that was almost totally deaf....but he was a cheap bugger and didn't want to spend money on a good set of hearing aids...We always commented that a good hearing test for Old Bill was to drop a dime on a concrete floor!!!!!!!