Earplugs?

My hearing is horrible. I spent a lot of time on the tractor growing up, a lot of time working on cars (firing them things up without exhaust is insanely loud), a lot of time at concerts, and none of that compares to the amount of hearing I've lost flying airplanes. I wear a bose headset now... it's nice... but I think the majority of my 'noise canceling' is actually the hearing I've already lost. Wear ear plugs.

On the plus side, if my girlfriend is talking about something I don't want to, I just pretend I can't hear her. She knows I can't hear very well anyway, so she never thinks much about me not answering. It works out well. It's the best relationship I've had.
 
I would think wearing a headset would be good enough protection:dunno: I've been around enough ole geezers at the airport that can't hear a thing to know that one should protect his hearing best he can. Once it's gone, it's gone.
 
Doug Taylor said:
WHHHHA? :)
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Hahaha, exactly how I feel some times.:D

Between BP 737-200s, NAC 737-200s, and Polar742 and Rjmores 747s that whine more than anybody on this forum, I probably working on the loudest ramp in the US. Oh, and throw in C-130s, C-46s, and DC-6s.:rawk:
 
I never wore them when I was flying but then again I was only flying a 152 like 2 or 3 times a week max. I do however have demolition grade earplugs for when I'm at work and for every time I go to a concert. I used to think of it as disrespectful to the bands to wear earplugs while they were playing. Then I started working at a venue and I always have at least one in. Now not only do my ears not ring when I drive home after the show but wearing them really takes the edge off the sound when the band sucks :D
A lot of musicians (if you can call some of them that) wear them while they perform. You should see some of the headsets I've seen drummers wear to protect their hearing.

And at first it may seem like you can't hear much, but truth be told, after I've had them in for a few minutes, I can hear almost as well as if I don't have them in. You would definitely be able to hear the radio with them.
 
I use Telex 750s on the CRJ with Hocks noise brakers, very good ear plugs. Well worth the investment... they give excellent hearing protection without the muffled sound you typically get with other earplugs. They apparently convert excessive noise into heat... The louder it gets, the more noise they filter out.

I have seen quite a few people fly with the 750s with no ear plugs... I don't know how they do it. I tried it myself a few times... after each flight my ears felt like I just went to a rock concert. I found the 750/ear plugs combo works just fine in the CRJ.

Fo sho', protect your ears!
 
When I flew turbine RW I wore earplugs with a helmet. Piston airplanes I don't. Turbo props I kind of wish I had.
 
One disadvantage I found to using earplus is that I can't hear myself talk on my DC's...I have no idea what that has anything to do with using them but it won't go into my earphones.
 
falconvalley said:
One of my uncles has tinnitus. It does not look like a fun disability to have.
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Many years ago, Tony Randall, who has tinnitus appeared on the Johnny Carson show. When he mentioned that his ears were ringing, Johnny said something like "well why don't you answer them". The show received more mail over that event than any other time in the show's history. The point of telling that story is to illustrate how many people suffer from the problem.

There is some speculation that it was tinnitus that drove Van Gough mad and that when he cut off his ear it was in an attempt to stop the ringing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7bL9BhESYA
 
Great thanks for the responses.

I carry a set of Howard Leight Smart Fit ear plugs.
Pretty nice, trying to find a comfortable way to wear them under the headset.

Sometimes the headset pushes in on the earplugs.
 
I used my pretax medical benefits to have an audiologist make custom earmolds for outside of the aircraft decible reducers that allow voice frequencies to come through. I also purchased a lightspeed in ear headset using the pretax program. It is approved because it is a hearing protection (medical prevention) device.



WEAR HEARING PROTECTION! I AM SHOUTING BECAUSE FOR YEARS I DIDN'T AND WAS ON AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER, FIRE ENGINE AND MANY ROCK AND FUNK BANDS OVER THE YEARS!
 
How much did those ear molds cost? I was thinking of getting the same. Are they easily put in and removed? About how long do they last?
 
I dunno where everyone at work gets this unlimited supply of earplugs, I can never find any laying around. I just put my fingers in my ears when I walk around the ramp that feels just fine. Man, that CRJ APU is worse than anything.
 
You can get ones that aren't made of foam. Wash and reuse. It's cheaper. Or you can buy boxes of the foam kind. My boss got a box of like 100 sets on ebay I think.
 
wheelsup said:
How much did those ear molds cost? I was thinking of getting the same. Are they easily put in and removed? About how long do they last?
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I got some for my in ear monitors for music, some that are just earplugs and the set for the Lightspeed and as I recall the total inculding Audiologist exam was 1400.00 for everything. They seem like they will last for a long time, but I have no data on that. I use them all the time, and am very glad I finally made the investment.
 
I use earplugs underneath my helmet....haven't had any problems, though some guys prefer to use CEP which is basically a set of earplugs with headsets built in. Basically cancels out the background noise and only lets you hear comms. Not sure if there is an equivalent that would work without a helmet. While there doesn't seem to be a lot of noise in flight, on the couple of occasions when I flew without plugs by accident, I could very easily tell the difference after unstrapping because I had a nice ringing going on in my ears. If it can do that after ~ 1 hour, I can only imagine what it would do throughout a career.
 
ChasenSFO said:
I dunno where everyone at work gets this unlimited supply of earplugs, I can never find any laying around. I just put my fingers in my ears when I walk around the ramp that feels just fine. Man, that CRJ APU is worse than anything.
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Actually I take my first comment back. An airstart is the most ungodly wail on earth, followed closely by the CRJ-200 APU.
For a while at my work there weren't any disposable earplugs provided. Just an inadequate number of old nasty earmuff type deals. Should have called OSHA and gotten that hellhole shut down. :mad:
 
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