improve youre earmuffs

[bloggs1968]

Soundman,

I'm with you. I have peltor H10's (?) in my shop for me and staff. Bloody great stuss and the stainless head spring doesn't wear out like some of the plastic muffs do.

At the other end of the shed are some other blokes working on ally. They use a cutting wheel to cut ally plate and grind and all sorts of noise that is so bad it has us reaching for muffs 30m away yet these old blokes don't even bother.

Only got one set of ears - look after them.

AD

[Markw]

Under the old AS1270 a hearing protector could claim a dB rating if it was capable of protecting at a single freqency. This is the basis for the old SLC80 rating. Generally speaking it was crap and many of the good quality muffs which protected at a far wider freq range were rated with the bottom end of the market such that you find in Bunnies.

The recent standard AS1270 - 2002 requires that a much high frequency range be applied (125 to 8000 Hz) and the old SLC80 rating now must be accompanied by a class rating ( 1 to 5) which puts the protector within a range of frequencies to dB drop.

Class 1 = 10 to 13 db drop
Class 2 = 14 to 17 db drop
Class 3 = 18 to 21 db drop
Class 4 = 22 to 25 db drop
Class 5 = 26 and above db drop

In the end you still read the same or similar numbers but the protection values will be real and this should eliminate the rubbish muffs from the industry.

[soundman]

Prevention of hearing damage is the late & crude issue here, Very rarely do people raise the issue of noise related fatigue, thaught disturbance and mood shift.
I find my concentration and temprament suffer greatly if subjected to sustained excessive noise, I am happier and more alert with a comfortable set of muffs on in a noisy situation.

That said wearing muffs that are too isolated for the situation can cause lack of awareness of surroundings. This is why I have hearing protection of a couple of isolation levels.
The muffs I wear most are quite light in weight and attenuation as most of what I do is on the high side of marginal. If I do something more noisy I go for heavier muffs.

cheers

[BobL]

A few weeks back I found this to be a very useful thread about ear muffs but I'm raising the issue again because of the following.

Over the last couple of months I have been organising my work flow to mill and shape timber with power tools during the weekend daytime and darkside and finish in the evenings on week nights. A result of this is that I have been using earmuffs on the weekend. By Sunday night I have been experiencing a headache and sore ears/jaw. These aches hang around for a few days but are generally gone by Wednesday. My thinking has been, I haven't been wearing the muffs enough, so I then decided to wear them all weekend but my aches got worse! So last weekend I only wore ear plugs. Result by sunday night was no pain. So I figure its the physical pressure of wearing the Peltor H7 ear muffs all day that is causing the problem. I have another pair of "Protector" muffs which are slightly better in terms of pressure but not as good as the Peltors for sound reduction.

My question is, can anyone recommend a set of muffs with really light pressure on the sides of the head ?

Thanks

[E. maculata]

So I figure its the physical pressure of wearing the Peltor H7 ear muffs all day that is causing the problem. I have another pair of "Protector" muffs which are slightly better in terms of pressure but not as good as the Peltors for sound reduction.

My question is, can anyone recommend a set of muffs with really light pressure on the sides of the head ?

Thanks

Bob I reckon it's like glasses, what suits you may not suit me, as conversely I wear peltor h7s 9-10 hrs a day, if I'm near the big moulders its the h10s, and have never experienced what you are describing........however earplugs give me sinus and ear issues within hours, no matter how dilligent I am about earplug hygene.
I now feel naked in the production shed without my muffs on, as I got used to in the bush with a helmet

[Clinton1]

Bruce,
have you tried the foam disposable ear plugs, or just the wear and wear again molded ones?

[scooter]

I reckon the Airsoft plugs are the go, wore these for years as a Jims Mowing contractor.

Easy to push in & pull out, reusable, cheap, and excellent protection.

Bought them at Alsafe or B Protected.


Cheers...................Sean

[E. maculata]

Bruce,
have you tried the foam disposable ear plugs, or just the wear and wear again molded ones?

Thanks Clinton, reckon over the past 8 years (practical involvement in our industries' OH&S) I've tried most on them on the market, including the soft foam, the mould to your ear, the cheap & thenot as cheap, as soon as foriegn objects are stuck in my ears my body says "NO" that's not to say they aren't any good, just not for me in this instance.

[soundman]

As with all personal protective equipment there are two important issues that are often overlooked.
fit and adjustment
appropriate choice

All of this stuff you need to get stuff that fits your head and get it adjusted right. for example it takes me anout two weeks to ge a new pair of glasses adjusted so I'm happy with them.
getting the band at the correct tension and the ear pads sitting in the right place with even preasure and accounting for things like glasses....
In short you may have to fiddle with the fit.

choosing the appropriate muffs.
I have an old set of peltors prior to the current model numbers that were the heaviest attenuation they made at the time ( designed for large bore shotgun work). They keep the noise out realy well but I wouldn't wear them unless I needed them. I have a few pairs that are much lower attenuation and much lighter and lower clamping force. I often wear them for 4 to 6 hours a day.

get some idea of the noise levels involved and may be get a lighter pair for quieter activities. Peltor make a wide range & are still mu choice of muffs.

As for ear plugs. No ear plug will give you the high attenuation an ear muff will and I too dislike pokeing things in my ears.

in high noise enviroments you may have to wear both. but if you have that sort of problem in a home workshop you need to reduce your noise at source.

cheers