Best Engine Room Ear Protection

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Codger2

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2021..22' Duffy Cuddy cabin
I've checked Amazon's ear protection products but am wondering what TFers use for their hourly checks.:speed boat:
 

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I found that the foam type plugs that you roll and insert to be the most comfortable. The ear muff type are great for a short visit but will swamp your ear canals with persperation and can lead to a lab experiment in your ear canals during prolong stays.
 
I was first diagnosed with a moderate hearing loss as a teenager and it hasn’t gotten any better. For a quick look in the ER I use the muffs. If I’m going to be there for a while or at the range, I use the muffs plus foam plugs.
 
That protective tape on the ER stairs is holding up pretty well over 12 years of hourly checks! :angel:

I have shooters muffs, but also a very high end military type noise cancelling headset.
 
Never thought the noise from our 855 @ 1150 rpm to be that loud, can still have a conversation in there.
Put it this way, I listen to music louder.
 
I just use some old airport earmuffs that work fine in my ER... but if I was spending YOUR money, I'd suggest Bose ANC. :flowers:

I've used headsets with active noise cancellation for many years, usually for 5-8 hrs per day. 15-20 years ago, we had hard-wired Bose ANC headphones. Then the next generation came out without the hard-wired components and they were even better but they were $900+ per set.

Last year, my family gave me this Bose headset with ANC. It sells today for $349. It is by far the most effective and comfortable ANC headset I've ever used. It also has Bluetooth and a 3.5mm plug for use with devices or on airline flights.

If my wife is sitting next to me talking and I have this on, I cannot hear her. When I mow the lawn or use the yard blower, I cannot even hear the motors. I haven't tried it yet in my ER. I'll have to bring it aboard and see if it is better than the passive NC earmuffs.
 
I don't think you want total noise cancellation. I sure don't. Part of the check is listen for any new noises. The set of shooter's muffs the PO left were just right for me.
 
I just use some old airport earmuffs that work fine in my ER... but if I was spending YOUR money, I'd suggest Bose ANC. :flowers:

I've used headsets with active noise cancellation for many years, usually for 5-8 hrs per day. 15-20 years ago, we had hard-wired Bose ANC headphones. Then the next generation came out without the hard-wired components and they were even better but they were $900+ per set.

Last year, my family gave me this Bose headset with ANC. It sells today for $349. It is by far the most effective and comfortable ANC headset I've ever used. It also has Bluetooth and a 3.5mm plug for use with devices or on airline flights.

If my wife is sitting next to me talking and I have this on, I cannot hear her. When I mow the lawn or use the yard blower, I cannot even hear the motors. I haven't tried it yet in my ER. I'll have to bring it aboard and see if it is better than the passive NC earmuffs.
I bought Joy these last year for her birthday. She was walking 2 miles a day then . Now she’s walking/ running 6 miles per day using these . I’d say they’re working . With some good tunes on , walk on baby .
 

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I use these at work , in the shop at home and in the engine room. OHSA approved these for work and we have some loud screaming machinery.
 

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Pack, you don't look happy?!
Hourly checks? Right.
Peltor for quick checks.
Beats are great, good for music too.
My first Beaver (that's an airplane you evil boaters) we made our own earmuffs (sheesh) out of Safety Supply ear muffs and microphone cartridges as there were no ear protection supplied. Bose are best for flying, you still need a first-born or your right arm to buy a set though.
 
I bought Joy these last year for her birthday. She was walking 2 miles a day then . Now she’s walking/ running 6 miles per day using these . I’d say they’re working . With some good tunes on , walk on baby .



If someone is walking/running along a roadway, listening to music or wearing headphones is a bad idea. Part of being safe is hearing cars approaching.

If walking/running where there are no cars, bicycles, etc... then it is fine.
 
If someone is walking/running along a roadway, listening to music or wearing headphones is a bad idea. Part of being safe is hearing cars approaching.

If walking/running where there are no cars, bicycles, etc... then it is fine.
She’s 61 and walking/ running on paved track through the words at a local park . She doesn’t do the road thing .
 
Never thought the noise from our 855 @ 1150 rpm to be that loud, can still have a conversation in there.

I'm jealous. My 6-71's made my bones vibrate! Earmuffs weren't even good enough. Solved the problem by NOT doing hourly checks. When you're cruising for 200 hours straight with the world's most reliable engines then I don't it's practical anyway.
 
Speak up, I cant hear you. My hearing aids are always 'somewhere else'.
I can thank the US Navy for my hearing loss. I stood a 12 watch about 2 feet away from the running diesel, inside a metal hull, with no ear protection.
This was back in the 60s (and before) when no one gave a crap about health issues.
 
Huh, what's that? :nonono:
Muffs! They cover the whole ear/hearing system. If its really loud and/or long exposure, expanding plugs plus muffs. My cousin has tinnitus from chainsaws. Would not wish that on anyone.
 
Speak up, I cant hear you. My hearing aids are always 'somewhere else'.

I was just thinking about this. The "best" hearing protection is the one that is at hand ready to use. If it is "somewhere else" it is useless. If ANC is used but the battery is dead, it is useless. That is one of the reasons I selected the ear muffs I did. They hang on the ladder to the ER so they are always convenient and ready to put on.
 
Old Dan 1943, been there done that. 4 on 8 off in enginerooms with NO a/c control booths, steam turbine, generators, feed pumps whinning away. 10 years latter USN starts hearing conservation program, ended up with double hearing protection so my lost hearing would return, NOT.
 
Huh, what's that? :nonono:
Muffs! They cover the whole ear/hearing system. If its really loud and/or long exposure, expanding plugs plus muffs. My cousin has tinnitus from chainsaws. Would not wish that on anyone.

I got my tinnitus from a blow to the head when a tree feel on me while on a fire suppression team. When I find my hearing aid, they have a channel with white noise. Works well at night. When I cant find my hearing aids, a little back ground music or sleeping with the TV on.
Having tinnitus means you are never alone.
 
The turbines whine gave me a high pitch hearing loss, the good news is I can hear a river tows engines well before I can see them or any other low tones. Plus the good old VA issued me hearing aids twenty years after I retired from the Navy. I guess they too thought my hearing would be re-stored.
 
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Having tinnitus means you are never alone.
Mine sounds like my head is inside a TV set from the 1950's - a sort of cacophony of high pitched electronic oscillator noises that never goes away. Not entirely unlike some of the sounds emanating from a desk top computer. Started as a kid when I had the worst cold or flu I've ever had, resulting in a roar of high pitched whines, and it never really went away when I got well, and has gotten worse over time. At least I won't die alone. :(
 
Comparing old war injuries now...guess this thread is dead! :hide:

When my older friends start comparing aches, pains and bodily functions, I know the party's over and it's time to go home.
 
Flywright said 'Comparing old war injuries now...guess this thread is dead! '

Or bragging we lived a long time and experienced many things.
Wait till we get to describing and comparing operations. LOL
 

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