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4" die grinder - no hearing protection:


kenratboy

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OK, I am very anal about my hearing. I have lots of good speakers to buy, and thousands of hours of music and movies to enjoy up until I die. Because of this, I am very protective of my hearing (and vision) - my dad and I were cutting some chain, and bolt cutters were not working, so he got our 4" Maktia die grinder to do the job. I made it clear it was loud as hell and I didn't want to roast my ears on a sh1tty piece of chain. He said don't be a wuss and do it. I did, and my ears are ringing - but not bad. Am I being a baby, or should I tell him to let me decide how to treat my ears?

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Ken youre being very sensible. That old macho loud noise thing is for generations past. Lots of WWII soldiers developed hearing problems. Some 60s rock musicians develop hearing problems.

Would you stare at the sun and damage your eyes? Ears get damaged by loud noises. We live longer nowadays and the more you can protect your ears now the more they will be there for you in the future.

In construction Im always exposed to loud machinery and keep a dB meter in my truck to be sure of what Im exposed to. I wear hearing protection much of the day. My father was also in construction but didnt always wear protection and now has some loss.

OSHA and the Department of labor have standards for duration of safe exposure to noise.

TABLE G-16 - PERMISSIBLE NOISE EXPOSURES (1)

______________________________________________________________

/

Duration per day, hours / Sound level dBA slow response

____________________________/_________________________________

/

8.........................../ 90

6.........................../ 92

4.........................../ 95

3.........................../ 97

2.........................../ 100

1 1/2 ....................../ 102

1.........................../ 105

1/2 ......................../ 110

1/4 or less................/ 115

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/noisehearingconservation/

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Ken I'm with you man...

Growing up in FLA I learned to respect a good pair of sunglasses when going outside. My eyes feel the difference at the end of the day.

Same principle goes for the ears. It didn't take much for my ears to start ringing when listening to $h*t music on $h*t stereos... so I don't do it anymore.

I was that dork walking around at concerts with the earplugs.

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I'm with the conservative end of this. Meaning that you should conserve your hearing. Anytime you think your ears are being overloaded, nature is certainly telling you something.

Let me first say that comparison to females is totally off base.

When I was in college I got into a situation where I was cutting though a brick wall with a Sawsall without hearing protection and got a teriffic headache. No hearing protect was even contemplated, then. I might have lost some hair cells in the inner ear.

Professionally, in later years, I've been involved, on the legal end, of thousands industrial mishaps, long term and short term.

In most there is a thread that some guy thought he was being macho, tough, getting the job done, being one of the good hard guys, can't be bothered with overprotective regulations, hero for the family, a bean counter's friend, and brave and thrifty. . . you get the picture.

Like it or not . . . everyone has so many cells in the body; they have a finite lifetime and replacements; and don't stand up to short term or long term insults. They are no match for machines. No one pays you up front for the small risk and losses. There are loses on the back side.

In many cases, some guy thinks, I can put my hand close to moving machinery and I'll be careful. Or it is short term risk. They go into short term risk with regularity. It catched up with them though.

Few rational people these days would suggest any job can't be accomplished for the same price in time and money WITH safety standards observed.

Next time, put on some hearing protection. OSHA at home. I use napkin spit balls in my ears at rock concerts. The music sounds better. I put my fingers in my ears when the fire trucks go by. The better to hear music.

Best,

Gil

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Rat Boy,

The ringing in your ears is unfortunately a sign that some damage was done. Prolonged exposure to the noise will give you a hearing loss. Ear protection is cheap (foam plugs).

Your desire to protect your hearing is a good thing. When I was very young, we went shooting without ear protection. Older shooters usually have some hearing loss. Older musicians frequently suffer hearing loss. The hearing loss is usually avoidable with a little effort. The effort will not make you a wuss, but it does mean that you have more sense than most people.

Bill

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Protect your ears. even if just for a few minutes or all day long protect your hearing. I have hearing loss and i have always worn the foam ear plugs, the good ones not the cheap ones.

And now working around Jet planes the noise can be even worse. It`s not the sound of the engines running it is the sound of the air rushing into the engine. we just had our annual test last month; and there are several guys that have a lot more damage than i do. Bill

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Here are some guidelines:

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/faq/faq.html#tooloud

Q: How can I tell if a noise situation is too loud?

A: There are two rules: First, if you have to raise your voice to talk to someone who is an arm's length away, then the noise is likely to be hazardous. Second, if your ears are ringing or sounds seem dull or flat after leaving a noisy place, then you probably were exposed to hazardous noise.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/noisehearingconservation/

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----------------

On 4/22/2004 6:51:18 PM Frank Speaker wrote:

Here are some guidelines:

Q: How can I tell if a noise situation is too loud?

A: There are two rules: First, if you have to raise your voice to talk to someone who is an arm's length away, then the noise is likely to be hazardous. Second, if your ears are ringing or sounds seem dull or flat after leaving a noisy place, then you probably were exposed to hazardous noise.

----------------

Dang, now I'm gonna have to turn the Klipsch's down ...

15.gif

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my S.O.'s dad worked in industry and was in the 'hearing protection is for wuss's'camp(or they just didn't know)(like MANY older men of his time).

he can barely hear,and is in his 60's...

NO THANK YOU!!

i know the majority of hearing loss i have suffered has been concerts and loud music.i don't think it is bad,but my ears have 'rung' enough times that i know i must have some loss.

avman.

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Kenratboy you are on the right track about hearing protection and should be as well as everyone else. I wear my foam ear plugs 8 hours a day at work while driving a 70 ton rock haul truck and when I am grading roads with a road grader.After 24 years of this even with ear plugs I have some hearing loss, we have too take a yearly hearing test at work every year. I could just imagine what my hearing would be like now if I hadnt worn ear protection at all.Anytime your ears ring after being around noise they are being stressed and are telling you something.Hearing cant be fixed. After years of noise exposure and bad permanate damadge has happend a persons ears will always ring 24 hours a day 365 days a year. I know one die hard out at work that never wore hear plugs because he said he didnt need them, well he cant here a dang thing and he says the ringing in his ears drive him nuts, he says going to bed at night and trying to sleep is even a problem with the ringing in his ears. So when in doubt and working around noise put those ear plugs in.

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