Do Not Damage Your Ears! - singleoutdoorsman’s blog

For the post I'm making today, I figured I'd write a little bit about the importance of using hearing protection when you are using power tools in your shop or at work. A couple of weeks ago I was using several power tools including the vacuum cleaner after I was done.

I did not have my hearing protection with me and figured I'd be ok, boy was I wrong. Literally for about 3 hours I had intense ringing in the ears as well as some hearing loss. Damaged my ears is what I thought. I admit I was a bit scared.

At that very moment, I swore that I would never use any types of power tools without my ear plugs in again. The drill press and band saw alone problably were reaching 80 decibels. Its no secret that power tools are very loud. But when you are caught up in the moment and you have a deadline, you may just skip the phones and go right for the work.

Tools That Require Hearing Protection

Biscuit Joiners
Power Drills
Power Sanders
Band Saws
Vacuum Cleaners

It really isn't worth the risk of having long term damage. As you may know, there are many types of hearing protection available on the market. I usually just wear the rubber insert ones that go right into your ears.

They are cheap and work great. Some guys use hearing protection headphones. Those work pretty good too, but I find them too be a bit much and a bit clumbsy. Whatever type of hearing protection you use or are planning to use, just make sure that you use them every single time you are running machinery.