What do you use for ear protection at the shop or track ?

Just wondering what you use for ear protection at your shop or at the track ?

it can get to 120 DB  at the track  and I guess close to that at the shop , 

The foam earplugs are 32 db and it looks like most of the full ear muffs are 25db-28db

So what are you using just for noise , 

and also what do you to use  if you need to listen to the rest of the crew etc other than hand signs ?

This year I moved to 3M Worktunes for the shop. Way better for me than using a shop stereo and ear plugs. I do a lot of grinding and sanding and they do a great job of cutting down that noise and giving me easy bluetooth music while I work.

WHAT?

Edited to add, I pretty much exclusively use ear-muffs, I've got multiple sets I keep everywhere. I have been more diligent about wearing them in an attempt to keep what little bit of hearing I have left. Been putting off getting hearing aids for years, this might be the year. 

I've got various sets of foam ear plugs and muffs around the shop. For short tasks, like a quick job with the grinder or cut off saw, I usually grab muffs. If it's going to take longer than about 10 min I usually do foam plugs.

In the shop 3M Optime 95 behind the head    https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-PELTOR-Optime-95-Earmuffs-H6B-V-Behind-the-Head-10-EA-Case/?N=5002385+3294780045&rt=rud

On track I use silicone earplugs, in the garage I use hard earmuffs (have a few pairs sitting around, I like the 3M ones best).  I don't bother in the paddock, it isn't that loud at our local tracks.

The nice thing about earplugs and earmuffs is that you can use them together. I buy a box of these at the beginning of the season and keep them in the car so I always have a fresh pair on hand. I wear them under the built-in earmuffs on my Stilo helmet to protect my ears. At home, it's a pair of 3M earmuffs most of the time, unless I'm going to be doing a lot of grinding or cutting. In those cases, I wear earplugs under the earmuffs for added protection.

I'm a earmuffs guy. Usually 3M worktunes but often whatever I have laying around. I find my hands are often too dirty to deal with pulling and reinstalling foam plugs. When someone comes up to talk to me I can just push muffs back.

I also use the Howard Leight foamies, but I like the Max Lite:  Max Lite 200pr box

I keep a set of ear muffs in the garage for quick jobs, but like the foamies for longer work, on the motorcycle, at the track, or on the range.  

Form fitted ear plugs at work (high school shop teacher) and the shop at home.

Ear muffs for convenience at times.

MIG welding sparks down the ear canal isn't my favourite.

I love my 3m work tunes!  For normal track work, I normally don't wear anything under the helmet.  For actual racing, I use the foam ear plugs with a hearing-aid transducer.

so, I'm curious if anyone has recommendations for hearing protection for kids?

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

I buy the cheap, essentially disposable, ear muffs from HF. Not sure how good they are, but they cut down on the noise my kid hears enough that she doesn't complain things are too loud, and she wears them around just because too.

For reference, she claims the people mowing down the street are "too loud", so shop and tool noise is really loud to her without them. 

Typically just 3m worktunes in the shop.  I'll pop some of the classic 3m yellow foam earplugs in underneath if I am doing something that produces a particularly awful noise or if I know I will be running an angle grinder for more than an hour or two.

At the track I use a cheap pair of muffs or the same yellow foam plugs if I have them.

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

We use These that I got from Amazon.  The kids seem to like them and they do cut down on nose pretty good.  Like RevRico, the hardest part is finding where they were dropped as the kids often just wear them around for fun.

I just turn the music up louder. But when even that hurts, I go with foam plugs.

I have special plugs for stage and concerts that let through a balanced frequency range that I often use. They cut the volume without making things muffled and unintelligable. Great for working in a busy garage. You can find them in music stores and online. Beware, they cost from 30 to 300/pr. and are not disposable unless you are sleeping with someone whos last name rhymes with 'husk', 'truckerberg', or 'stuff-it'.

On the bike and track my Schuberth helmet is about as quiet without plugs as my old helmets were with em, so I usually go without if my lid is on. Again, more expensive, but my noggin is priceless, and it saves me haulin plugs and sunglasses. 

I have silicone plugs on a plastic headset for the shop.  Running a tool I just stick them in.  When I'm done they just hang around my neck.  Kinda like these:

I have a set of Bilsom Thunder T3 ear muffs I've been using for years in the garage. They're fully dielectric which, I think, makes them more comfortable than ones with a metal band. They're kind of big but they carry an NRR30 rating.

Track or for when I need something compact I use Surfire EP3's.

I don't like having things in my ears so I use ear muffs as much as possible. I've been toying with the idea of the custom molded ones you see at gunshows for a while now. Maybe next time one of the larger ones comes up I'll have a pair made.

I keep one of the big commercial boxes of 3m foam ear plugs in my shop and grab a set anytime I'm in there and using power tools.  I use 3m worktunes on my tractor and I also have several regular ear muffs hanging around my shop to grab on a moments notice.  On the track it depends I keep a bunch of the foam plugs in my gear bag so I always have them but the majority of the events I go to aren't particularly loud and the area of paddock I hang out in is a decent distance from WOT activity.

Great ideas , 

I asked a deaf girl I know if she can "hear" music , she smiled and said yes , thru the vibrations in the air and  the ground ,  

That is one thing with the foam plugs or ear muffs , you still "hear" thru the bones in your head  , and the skin on your ears etc , 

Any ideas on how  good the noise canceling headphones work ?

In the garage I use muffs, if I am at an indoor range I use in ear plugs and muffs over top.  At the track I use in ear plugs, usually the silicone ones I got from the Army and keep a bunch of the foam ones in my backpack for the kids.

A good little track hack is to use the cheap foam plugs, of which I always have a handful in the pit cart, and when I am driving I put a little square of duct tape over them. It cuts the sound dramatically over just the plugs themselves. You can also do this over earbuds if you are using a raceceiver or radio.

boxedfox said:

The nice thing about earplugs and earmuffs is that you can use them together. I buy a box of these at the beginning of the season and keep them in the car so I always have a fresh pair on hand. I wear them under the built-in earmuffs on my Stilo helmet to protect my ears. At home, it's a pair of 3M earmuffs most of the time, unless I'm going to be doing a lot of grinding or cutting. In those cases, I wear earplugs under the earmuffs for added protection.

I have had trouble with the standard foam plugs staying in my ears (mostly on the left side for some reason) do those Laser Lite ones stay in good?

Another vote for earmuffs. I have a hook with a set or two of safety glasses and the earmuffs right above my noisy workbench. I find them easier to put on and off than earplugs when I'm all dirty.

For long drives in noisy cars or the track or airplanes, I wear custom-fitted plugs. They're Decibullz, a DIY set that goes flexible at about the boiling point of water so they're easy to rework if you don't get it right the first time. They're comfortable enough to wear for 8+ hours at a stretch and cost about $25.

I mostly use the (3M) Peltor X4A, which if you look at the graphic down the page has the best combination in the product family of high attenuation in the low profile body.

I've only tried a borrowed pair once, but the electronic active earmuffs work unsettlingly well for being able to engage in normal conversation (or even amplify and eavesdrop on nearby conversations) without taking them off, but there is also a weight and cost penalty with that as well.

Might the ultimate in noise reduction, while still being able to converse, be active earmuffs combined with 'musician' earplugs?

.

sleepyhead the buffalo said:

so, I'm curious if anyone has recommendations for hearing protection for kids?

What age?

Infants: Baby Banz

Toddlers/young kids: Ear Banz

Older kids/young adults: (3M) Peltor Junior/Sport (also available in pink)