hearing pro

cory

cory

Tree House enthusiast
Joined
Aug 23, 2008
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An important topic for me so I buy the strongest pro I can find-peltor H10 which is rated for 27-35NRR depending on what you read. Hygiene kits for it are tough to find. I used to buy them with no problem but manufacturers seem to have figured that they'll make more money by making hygiene kits scarce. I use some 3M yellow ear plugs too but over time they F with the inside of my ears.

Eager to hear (lol) other's thoughts re effective hearing pro
 
I'm not convinced max protection is necessary. IMO, sound only needs to be attenuated to /safe/ levels, not max. I like Husqvarna muffs. They're light, and have big pockets so they fit well. My first set of muffs were one of 3Ms most protective(can't remember which), and they were heavy with small pockets. Made my helmet move when I moved my head and were hard to correctly place over my ears. I'm happy with the Husky muffs and intend on getting them again.

edit:
I use some good 3M plugs for mowing the lawn. I don't like stuff in my ears, but muffs are too hot for pushing a dumb mower around the yard.
 
Last edited:
Plugs or muffs for low noise. Plus and muffs for high noise.


I used to really prefer Silencio molded silicone ear plugs from Madsen's. Haven't been able to find them, online.
 
I'll rotate out the plugs and muffs. I don't use big muffs because they are too heavy/bulky and uncomfortable. The smaller ones are bad enough, but then plugs do bother my ears after a few weeks. It seems like my ear canals start to enlarge making the plugs not fit as tightly, plus it gets itchy. I leave the plugs in all day to minimize itching and irritation, and I just enjoy the silence when no machines are running. I wouldn't worry too much about max protection as long as you get a 25dB reduction in volume, because there's little chance you will develop permanent damage unless you are around 115dB or more continuously all day. The plugs I use are Hearos extreme protection (33NRR), but on the graph on the box it reduces many frequencies up to 45dB. I like to protect my hearing, but have occasionally run a saw even in the bed of a pickup without protection, and have been around a few gunshots and explosions that cause temporary deafness and ringing, and still have unusually sensitive hearing.
 
We use custom molded plugs. Have them made at the place, where I get my hearing aids.
Costly, but since they are molded after the ear canal, one simply doesn't feel them.
Add a muff on top of those for logging.
When a half deaf guy like me puts both on, the World goes silent!
 
I thought you liked to hear the trees and avoided protection.

I don't feel my Hearos plugs all day after a few minutes.
 
That's for sure.

Peltor H10 for me as well. My original ones came with a set of ear plugs, with them in you don't hear much.

I can get the Hygiene kits on ebay, $17.

www.ebay.com.au

3M Peltor Hygiene Kit H10A Optime III 3 Earmuffs Replacement Pads Ear Muffs HY54 | eBay

Hygiene kit for 3M™ Peltor™ H10 / Optime III earmuffs (part number HY54). Fits the Peltor™ H10 series earmuffs. Contains replacement earcup inserts & padding. Suitable for Optime III, H10A, H10B and H10 helmet attached earmuff varieties. Replace when damaged or unhygienic.
www.ebay.com.au
 
I like situational awareness, so I tend to prefer muffs, and only wear them when I absolutely have too. I wear ear buds fairly frequently, and they help with attenuation quite a bit, since I don't blast the volume.
 
I will sometimes, though not regularly at all, pull a plug or tip a muff to the side if I am thinking I want to hear the tree give me some audible feedback during a questionable fell...a heavy leaner would be a reason. But I'm pretty much always wearing hearing pro full time with any noisy machine around...saws, mowers, string trimmer, pressure washer, air compressor, etc.
 
cory said:
I use some 3M yellow ear plugs too but over time they F with the inside of my ears
Click to expand...

If they're the old school yellow cylinder ones yeah those are terrible, those will even give me headaches. The most comfy and best noise reduction ones I've ever used are the 3m earsoft neon blast ones, i can wear those all day everyday, pretty cheap too. I prefer the disposables because they're cheap, you can't forget them at home, and they're always clean so if they're dirty you simply get new, but I'm also frequently around stuff you don't want on you. They are 33 db reduction iirc, and I've even been in places where you'll wear muffs over those and it's still way too loud. I will admit I've been cheating lately and just been using my noise canceling ear buds, but when we're really getting at it or going into stupid loud and filthy industrial environments I'll swap to earplugs. Many places i work also require ear pro so those are what i prefer if they have them, but most supply a similar soft plug so I'll simply wear those if I'm not working a ton of hours. I use the key pocket on my pants to store them if i take them out, works really good until you forget them in the laundry, the wife loves that part too :lol:
 
For some reason, unknown to me foam earplugs give me the gnarliest pimples in my ears. Won't do them anymore. The silicone Christmas tree looking ones are OK, but foamies are a no go for sure. I don't ever want to have to use a q tip to pop another inner ear zit, and I really don't want to hear or feel that again....ick!
 
Was it used or dirty? And what brand? Or any foam plug? I've never heard of that ever, that's terrible because they're by far the most common ones around.
 
Brand new out of the package, I don't re use disposable plugs. And yes, any brand. It does suck, really bad, but I just wear my muffs and grumble, til I find the silicone ones I like, then again when I lose them.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #21
Thanks 09, Imma try some neon blast plugs.

Yes the basic 3m yellow plugs often make the inside of my ears itch like a mofo!
 
I’ve been lucky, started out without ear protection, running 200ts with the baffle removed.
Started using PPE around the turn of the century.
Got away with it, hearing OK, never went to concerts or many raves though.
Re, buffeting when driving with the window open in your vehicle, just open the other window an inch and it stops.
 
Not necessarily re the buffeting, @Mick!. Doesn't work for me, anyway. I sometimes just take out the aid on the window side in that situation.
 
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