Ear Cans?

[jmclainaz]

I'm about to purchase a pair of hearing protector ear cans. I've been using plugs and suspect that they ain't doing the job as well as they should.

I've seen these models that have battery powered high-low frequency and dbl selectivity.

What insights can youse guys provide?

thanks
Jack
in (it finally stopped raining) Arizona

[John]

It rains in Arizona? I didn't know that!!! :-)

[jmclainaz]

Ir does rain... ~10 inches/year average here in the southern sonoran desert. Usually we get mild rains in the winter (now) and significant, but short, thunder storms during the summer monsoon. So far this year we have had a record >8 inches! This unprecedented weird weather has caused floods (and a projected desert flower bloom which is anticipated to be the most spectatular in who knows when).

I live 4 miles off the pavement and my packed dirt road turned into a impassable mud stream. Today is sunny. Think I'll wander off into the desert and shoot!

cheers
Jack
(in drier but still damp Arizona)

[mr Hotgun]

I have earplugs made specially for me ,they work very well for me
They put a kind of two component stuff in your ear and take it out when it is hard ,from that they make a set of unique earplugsfor you
You can choose from hard or soft plastic

I bought some earcans by the local buildingmall (hardware store )
but with my glasses on they leak also a little bit of noise in .specially where the glasses (feet ?) are

[TriumphGT6]

Mr. Hotgun,

Next time you're near a small airport, drop by the pilots' shop and see if you can find a set of replacement ear seals that will fit your head clamps. Get the gel-filled kind. These work very well with eyeglasses, and are more comfortable than the usual foam-filled rings.

You're in the NL? You're allowed to own a PISTOL? :confused: I wouldn't have thought that possible... just goes to show you how much use stereotypes really are. :cool:

[mr Hotgun]

Hello Triumph GT6
I have like you mentioned the foam filled earcans ,I will try the gel filled rings
But the special earplugs working fine as well ,but the have to be replaced every 4 years i don,t bother because the job is paying for them

Yes whe may have under special law have fire arms

[stumbler]

I also "double up" on the hearing protection. Ear plugs and headset. I did not protect my ears enough when younger and have lost a range of hearing in my left ear.

(Now I have an excuse to tell the wife why I did not hear her. Her voice is in the tonal region I've lost:))

[twitch]

Right now im a college student, but i've worked the same job for the last 4 years at school doing professional audio reinforcement and lighting for big concerts so hearing protetion is real important... especially when youre two feet in front of a 32 foot high stack of speakers and subs when the sound guy decides its testing time.
When you buy ear plugs or muffs, the box should have a label on it giving you the decibel rating, most ear plugs and ear cans are rated around 29, which means they will decrease the dB level by 29dB. This is average and finding ones that are better will usually mean shelling out a hell of a lot of money. Anything around 29 -32 is considered sufficient. The important factor to remember is that decibel levels are exponentially increasing, so 20dB is not simply 2x 10dB, but it is much much louder. a gunshot is supposedly around 120dB (i've only read this, never actually tested it) and hearing degradation begins anywhere above 85dB. This includes things like lawmower engines, etc, it is not to say that anything above 85dB WILL cause hearing loss, only that it is possible.
So the best things to be aware of when buying hearing protection is that it has a high Db rating, and that it fits you properly. Like some of the other guys were saying, if your ear cans dont seal, then they won't work either.


-twitch