Ear Defenders

[brianhabby]

What do you use?

Axminster have some here that claim to offer 31dB protection against machinery noise as do others on their site.

Rutlands have these that say they suppress noise to below a safe 85dB

They are worded differently and I am unsure which offer the best protection in the workshop.

The Rutlands ones also have a radio incorporated - is this just a gimmick?

What do you forumites think?

regards

Brian

 

[gregmcateer]

I don't know the answer - but a quick googling seems to indicate these guys know a thing or two about ear protection - maybe worth a phone call to describe your situation, (and how they measure the protection and levels, etc)

http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.c...ml?vlsrc=gaw&gclid=CPeYhrTCzLICFaTHtAodgi4Axw

Let us know what you discover

Greg

 

[zb1]

Peltor Optime III. Best ever. Also you can get the hygiene pack which has the foam insert and ear pad. I replace mine every 5 years or so.

 

[stevep]

+ 1 for the Peltor's. Have to wear ear defenders a lot at work and they are the best i have ever tried.

 

[chippy1970]

These new sensgard ones look interesting

http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php ... msg#223142


Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk 2

 

[Lord Kitchener]

I am fussy about my ears, and don't like loud noises. I use a Sony Walkman with earpieces which fit inside the ear, and they incorporate noise cancelling. That way I protect my hearing and listen to good music at the same time.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Thing 0: dB and dB(A) are often confused, even by people writing tech specs. The first (dB) is a measure of relative loudness, "such-and-such is 20dB louder than something else". The second (dB(A)) is an absolute measure of sound loudness: "125dB(A) is roughly the threshold of pain."

Thing 1: There is no such thing as a 'safe' level of noise. All noise damages hearing, even riding in a car, or your PC fan. Louder sounds do it faster, basically.

Thing 2: there is no such thing as a "85dB working level". It's meaningless. They might mean 85 dB(A), but who knows. They obviously don't.

Thing 3: Even if they meant 85dB(A), Rutlands *cannot* make such a claim because it isn't possible. Their ear defenders attenuate by a certain amount (in dB), they don't attenuate to a specific sound level (dB(A)). That's like saying "it doesn't matter if you're standing next to a jet engine or a telephone, our earphones make both safe." It isn't possible with the louder sound. The fact they're 'active ("noise cancelling") may change this a bit, but I can't immediately see how. Anyway, at that price I certainly wouldn't trust my hearing to them.

To be fair to Rutlands, they probably have no idea what the numbers and abbreviations mean, but they should really. It's a safety matter.

E.

PS: I bought some recently from Axminster (my set are red, rather than blue though). The documentation that came with them was excellent, and they work very well.

 

[=Adam=]

I bought some Howard leight leightening f2's I believe from eBay about two months ago and they are great! The best thing is that they only cost £6 (BIN) so it is worth having a check on there!

 

[Racers]

+2 for Peltor optime 3s they are very good, I picked a second pair up at the car boot for £3.

Pete

 

[xy mosian]

Hi, I worked for too long in the design labs of a well known HiFi loudspeaker manufacturer. Mostly measuring sound. I agree with everything Eric has written, wish I could have put it as well. However for me, without the testing facilities the Axminster have the more credible claim.
xy

 

[custard]

The headphone style ear defenders can get a bit hot in summer, but they're very welcome on a frosty morning!

 

[Eric The Viking]

The headphone style ear defenders can get a bit hot in summer, but they're very welcome on a frosty morning!

They seem to have other drawbacks too!

:shock:

E.

 

[beech1948]

++++++Peltor 3...excellent.....feel good on your head....lightweight

Al

 

[wallace]

I agree the peltors are very comfy. zb1 I think you should change your defenders more rugularly than every 5 years. I used to do alot of elf and safety stuff and we changed the foam and ear surrounds every two years. I used to work in a very noisy place and I would wear disposable plugs and peltors.
mark

 

[Eric The Viking]

I agree the peltors are very comfy. zb1 I think you should change your defenders more rugularly than every 5 years. I used to do alot of elf and safety stuff and we changed the foam and ear surrounds every two years. I used to work in a very noisy place and I would wear disposable plugs and peltors.
mark

Wearing them together is actually very sensible indeed for really noisy jobs.

You can never have too much hearing protection.

E

(who, sadly, now has several old friends who used to be ace music mixing engineers, but who are now going deaf. And I'm talking studios, not roadies!).

 

[zb1]

Wallace.
I definitely should change them more often but never seem to remember to order the hygiene pack when ordering other stuff and refuse to pay £6 postage for something that costs a fiver. Have recently found out that Buck and Hickman in Sheffield stock Peltor pack so my record might well improve.

I'm not sure about the whole listening to music whilst working with machinery. Never seemed very safe to me. With my ear defenders on I can still hear someone screaming at me or a forklift reversing. Not so if I was listening to music too. Ear defenders shouldn't silence everything, just cut out the most damaging frequencies and volumes surely.

Zach

 

[brianhabby]

A lot of very useful info, thanks to everyone.

I just use some cheapo ones from the local hardware store but would like to get some better ones so all the above is going to prove very useful.

regards

Brian

 

[Lord Kitchener]

I'm not sure about the whole listening to music whilst working with machinery. Never seemed very safe to me. With my ear defenders on I can still hear someone screaming at me or a forklift reversing. Not so if I was listening to music too. Ear defenders shouldn't silence everything, just cut out the most damaging frequencies and volumes surely.

I can't speak for other forms of music providing devices, but my Sony Walkman allows me to hear other stuff, the noise cancelling only cuts in at a certain level and it really makes a difference. I know how much difference it makes because is because when what I am listening to finishes the device will switch itself off after a few seconds. But for those few seconds if I happen to be making noise (cutting with a Festool TS55 for instance) it suddenly gets louder when the Walkman switches off.

 

[Togalosh]

My ears have become more sensitive over the years & I'm keen to get the right set up too.

I say "set up" as I wear ear defenders, a dust mask & full face visor when using my table saw or safety specs on other machines but find all 3 very cumbersome & the specs keep the ear enclosures from fitting closely... so recently I got some ear plugs with a plastic headband (?) which took me 2 minutes to give up on as the plastic amplifies any knocks it gets - so my necklace tapping it makes a hell of a crack in my lugholes ! I'll get ones with a cord next time.

 

[Noel]

+10 for the Peltor Optimes, in yellow, easy to find.