Hearing Protection

[Corpulent Tosser]

The rig I am working on insist that hearing protection be worn at all times whole outside the accomodation, which I have no problem with as my own hearing is already impaired and I tend to wear protection even when not required.

My problem is when wearing hearing protection I cannot have a conversation, actually at home even without hearing protection there are times I can't hear the wife (or so I say).

I have seen somewhere earmuffs or ear plugs which drown out background noise but still alow the wearer to hear people speaking, does anyone know where I can buy such items.

Ta
CT

[andy400]

Shooting shops / websites will usually have a fair selection, ranging from relatively expensive electronic PLEDs (Peak Limiting Ear Defenders) which will cost you £60+, down to rubber ear plus with a device in that does much the same job. The PLEDs are excellent, but I find the little rubber ones, as described, do an excellent job. I think I paid £12 for mine.

I'd imagine safety-wear suppliers will have some as well, but I only have experience of shooting shops.

[RizzoTheRat]

In ear or over ear? I've used some speltor over ear jobbies that had a mic and speaker built in to pass voices through, they worked pretty well but you get a bit warm, sweaty and uncomfortable in them after a while. Used a lot in the shooting fraternity so probably a gun shop or club would be able to help.

Alternativly you can get moulded earplugs with a filter in them to pass certain frequencies through. http://www.ultimateear.com/ or similar

[Hollywood Wheels]

http://www.best4headsets.co.uk/category/asp/CtgID/...

I just pulled that site off from a google search, just to show the Peltor range.

I use Peltor ComTac at work, which are volume adjustable. Takes a while to get used to the way the sound waves hit them. A person opening a packet of crisps the other side of the room sounds like it's right by your ear, yet a gun going off right next to you doesn't have any effect. You can have a normal converstaion in safety.

[Emsman]

As already mentioned- Peltor Comtac.
I am deaf in 1 ear, so thought it best to wear something whilst shooting- a good friend got me a pair.

Utterly superb.

[Soft Top]

Corpulent Tosser said:

The rig I am working on insist that hearing protection be worn at all times whole outside the accomodation, which I have no problem with as my own hearing is already impaired and I tend to wear protection even when not required.

My problem is when wearing hearing protection I cannot have a conversation, actually at home even without hearing protection there are times I can't hear the wife (or so I say).

I have seen somewhere earmuffs or ear plugs which drown out background noise but still alow the wearer to hear people speaking, does anyone know where I can buy such items.

Ta
CT

I have the passive ones for shooting and they are better than normal hearing protection but if you struggle normally with conversation then you won't hear a thing with passive protection. You'll need to go for electronic protection.

These woud work well but you may want something more subtle i.e. in ear protection:

http://www.shootingshop.com/products/Deben-Slim-El...

These guys do a number of in ear options but they are not cheap - £300 per ear:

http://www.hearingprotection.co.uk/

[Loaded1me]

http://comfyearplugs.com/macks-musicians-earplugs....

We use the above in work. They cut out the dangerous frequencies still allowing you to hear what's going on around you.

HTH

[jshell]

Obviously you can't just buy an electronically controlled set and use them offshore unless they're Ex rated.....but I know you know this already!

[Corpulent Tosser]

jshell said:

Obviously you can't just buy an electronically controlled set and use them offshore unless they're Ex rated.....but I know you know this already!

Yes I didn't make that clear, electronic ear protectors are not allowed, but there are a few passive ones in the links above that could be worth trying.

Thanks All

CT

[KB_S1]

Maybe try going to these guys?

Glasgow Hearing Centre

[ninja-lewis]

I second the audiologist suggestion. If you've already got a degree of hearing loss, you should really look at a custom solution to ensure you're getting the best protection for your remaining hearing and overcoming the existing loss.

I was going to recommend House of Hearing if you're in the Eastern Central Belt. But I figure if you're up near Aberdeen, you should try a local specialist as they'll probably have experience of offshore requirements.

[Vipers]

Corpulent Tosser said:

The rig I am working on insist that hearing protection be worn at all times whole outside the accomodation, which I have no problem with as my own hearing is already impaired and I tend to wear protection even when not required.

My problem is when wearing hearing protection I cannot have a conversation, actually at home even without hearing protection there are times I can't hear the wife (or so I say).

I have seen somewhere earmuffs or ear plugs which drown out background noise but still alow the wearer to hear people speaking, does anyone know where I can buy such items.

Ta
CT

When I worked for Stolt, they issued ear protection in the form of moulded ear plugs, which allowed conversation. The material is poured in the ear, and sets in minutes, then they are sent away for the moulded ear plug to be manufacuted. Works just fine.

Bring it up with the safety officer.


(

Edited by Vipers on Saturday 16th January 19:48

[ChrisRS]

Vipers said:

Corpulent Tosser said:

The rig I am working on insist that hearing protection be worn at all times whole outside the accomodation, which I have no problem with as my own hearing is already impaired and I tend to wear protection even when not required.

My problem is when wearing hearing protection I cannot have a conversation, actually at home even without hearing protection there are times I can't hear the wife (or so I say).

I have seen somewhere earmuffs or ear plugs which drown out background noise but still alow the wearer to hear people speaking, does anyone know where I can buy such items.

Ta
CT

When I worked for Stolt, they issued ear protection in the form of moulded ear plugs, which allowed conversation. The material is poured in the ear, and sets in minutes, then they are sent away for the moulded ear plug to be manufacuted. Works just fine.

Bring it up with the safety officer.


(

Edited by Vipers on Saturday 16th January 19:48

I used to use these at work but didn't find them that hygenic, tricky to clean, i prefer the disposable foam ones.

[Mikey G]

I wear a standard in-ear foam type plug in work and i can hear conversations in a noisy environment better wearing them than without them.

[GCH]

ACS - www.hearingprotection.co.uk

I get all my hearing protection from them (sound engineer)- many others in the industry do too and i highly recommend giving them a call..they will have something for you.

[V8A*ndy]

You want DB reduction earplugs like these

http://www.andertons.co.uk/EtymoticER20S20dBReduct...

Don't spend a fortune. Etymotic as above (check your db exposure levels) are all you need.

Edited by V8A*ndy on Monday 18th January 03:39

[King Herald]

Mikey G said:

I wear a standard in-ear foam type plug in work and i can hear conversations in a noisy environment better wearing them than without them.

I wear decent quality foam ear plugs when riding my noisy Harley, and they work so well I can hear my tinnitus ringing over the sound of the engine and the wind, but I can also still hear conversation when I go to the petrol station.

I have a pair of Peltor Optime 105 ear defenders here in front of me, that I wear in the engine room at work on the ship. I also use the same ones at home in the workshop.

The ear plugs are just as effective as the Peltor ear defenders, but a pain to put in and out all the time. They need to go right into the ear, which is a bit of a fiddle to get right.

[dudleybloke]

my mates a sound engineer and has got a pair of in-ear attenuaters for when he's doing live gigs.

i'l ask him where he got them from when i see him.

[R39S1]

Hi
A couple of things. The duty is on the company to provide suitable hearing protection, and that means suitable to you specifically not just a general that will do. Secondly to work out the correct hearing protection requires a little bit of work. Ideally you need to have an octave band analysis done of the noise levels and then the correct type and level of protection calculated. What usually happens is people just grab the first pair of ear plugs they can find. It is just as bad to have over protection as under protection. Amazingly the HSE website on noise is very good and helpful. I would have a chat either with your Safety Bod or Occupatonial health. Once the requirements have been worked out, then start looking at the suppliers to find something that fits the need.

[jeff m]

Now Google ATF