A short thread on hearing loss and ear plugs from the DeTomaso mailing list.
Date: Sat, 07 Feb 1998 21:45:48 +0000
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: DeRyke's hearing loss article
Sender: [email protected]
Bryan wrote:
> this may sound silly or unmacho, but for longer trips, like Vegas if I take the car this year, I was thinking about ear plugs that might help reduce some of the lower frequencies. Your description of the different types of plugs was great, I didn't know all that stuff. Sounds like the custom ones might do the job.
>>>I have suffered permanent hearing loss, probably due to exposure to gunfire without ear protection, and extensive motorcycling, and also exposure to jet engine noise.
I am a big believer in the EAR yellow foam earplugs. They are standard issue in the military, and therefore I've got a bunch of them. Over-the- counter they cost about a buck.
They are actually very recycleable. When new, they're extremely effective, and with repeated use they start to get gunked up and lose some of the ability to reduce noise. What I do is take a half-dozen or so, drop them into one of my socks, tie a knot on the end and toss it into the wash. When they come out, they're nice and clean, and about 90% as effective as new. Eventually this trick stops working; the plugs look fine, but when you cram them in your ears they fail to expand to fill the canal and noise leaks past them.
I used to wear them about two hours each day, and (with periodic washings) I could get a pair to last a good month or two before needing replacement.
I use them whenever I'm riding my motorcycle, and whenever I'm driving the Cobra for any distance on a freeway. Wind noise is worse than the exhaust noise actually, which is why it's bad to bomb down the highway with your windows rolled down. Typically I don't use them on twisty roads, where your hearing is a key sense that can tell you about traction, etc. I've also used them while droning in a Euro GTS from Pocono back to Vermont.
Besides the long-term benefit to your hearing, wearing ear plugs when droning also has short-term benefits. Your central nervous system takes a beating when exposed to that kind of noise for any period of time, and that's one of the reasons driving a Pantera for long distances can be fatiguing. Ear plugs can let you arrive feeling refreshed.
Finally, I always wear these plugs while flying commercial airlines, for exactly the same reason. Sub-sonic noises in an airliner just kick your butt and you don't know it. Pop in a pair of earplugs, and you're golden.
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 1998 01:23:23 +0000
Ted Wrote:
>>>>maybe the traffic cops can help out here but I thought it was like...a
no-no to drive with headphones or earplugs on...something about not
hearing horns or the screams of the peasantry or something like that.-
Ted<<<<
As I am a police officer AND a Pantera driver, (should everyone be so lucky),
I can relay this:
Section 27400 of the California Vehicle Code states ---
No person operating any motor vehicle or bicycle shall wear any headset
covering, or any earplugs in, both ears.
The prohibition of this section does not aply to any of the following:
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 1998 09:36:19 +0000
-> Now on the race track, that's a different story, if your out there
-> with open-exhaust and no ear protection, your just asking for
-> trouble!
I have fairly substantial hearing loss due to childhood illness - >30%
left ear, >60% right, with an aggravated 'cookie bite' sonogram pattern
with a big flat spot in normal voice ranges. Add tinnitus. *Plus* I'm
apparently tone deaf to boot.
The hearing deficiency has been a problem all my life; asking people to
speak up doesn't help, as they seem to automatically assume you're some
kind of fucking retard and then they'll staaarrrttt ttaaaalllkkiinnggg
reeeaaalll ssslllooowww and exaggerating things until you can't make it
out anyway. Very much hearing loss will make you an outsider; it sucks
big time.
So I try to avoid extended noisy environments to try to retain useful
conversational hearing as long as I can. Hearing aids are not very
useful - people still sound like they're trying to talk through a
mouthful of cold grits, only louder.
So I use muffs when shooting, running various power tools, etc. And I
use the little foamy ear plugs when on long motorcycle trips, and
sometimes in the car. *And* sometimes at the track, if I'm not having
to haul an instructor around. Lots of people are surprised at how noisy
it can get out on the track.
Interestingly, after you get used to the plugs, you don't really notice
them. And with the wind and engine noise muted you can hear a lot of
things you wouldn't have noticed before.
Dean Grennell used to tell a story about two old shooters. One was
telling the other about his wonderful new hearing aid. "It's great," he
says. "I can hear everything perfectly clearly now."
"Great!" says his buddy. "What kind is it?"
The first looks at his watch. "Oh, about four thirty..."
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 1998 09:36:37 +0000
I also keep a couple pair in a Ziploc in the tail section of the bike,
and each car has a pair or two just in case.
Tip: the foam expands in the ear canal, which limits how much it can
expand. Ear canals vary widely in size - for some people, the foam
plugs exert a very uncomfortable amount of pressure. You can trim the
plugs lengthwise with sharp scissors. They'll be "D" shaped instead of
round then, but it won't hurt a thing.
Again for those people who don't wear the plugs much, if you have them
in and out a lot, they will make your ears sore. They have a fairly
coarse texture and the ear canal is very sensitive. The custom molded
plugs are smoother and aren't supposed to have that problem.
If you feel stupid with a big yellow wad sticking out of your ear, the
plugs are available in "flesh tone", assuming you're a Caucasian in an
advanced stage of decomposition
Variants are also available with the two plugs connected by a string,
so you can let them dangle around your neck when not in use, or
connected by a plastic headband, like a Walkman headset. The headset
types aren't nearly as effective; you don't roll the plugs and insert
them into the ear canal. Instead, they're smaller and pointy and just
block the entrance. Their advantage is that you can pop them in and out
using the plastic band instead of touching the plugs, which is nice if
your hands are grungy, and they won't make your ears sore from continual
insertion if you're continually having to remove them to talk to people.
Some gun muffs have an intercom setup with a noise limiter. You put
them on, a mike outside picks up sound and there are earphones inside
the muffs. The trick is, a volume limiter prevents sound spikes, so you
can carry on a relatively normal conversation at the range. Fancier
ones even have amplifiers as well as limiters. I dunno how they work in
a continuous noise environment like a race car, though.
Date: Sun, 08 Feb 1998 09:36:55 +0000
Why? I dunno; my theory is they make traffic laws by rolling dice.
From: [email protected]
Subject: What did you say Officer?
To: Multiple recipients of list
(a) Persons operating authorized emergency vehicles, as defined in Section
165.
(b) Any person engaged in the operation of either special construction
equipment or equipment for use in the maintenance of any highway.
(c) Any person engaged in the operation of refuse collection equipment who is
weaing a safety headsed or safety earplugs.
(d) Any person wearing personal hearing protectors in the form of custom
earplugs or molds that are designed to attenuate injurious noise levels.
The custom plugs or molds shall be designed in a manner so as to not
inhibit the wearer's ability to hear a siren or horn from an emergency
vehicle or a horn from another motor vehicle.
(e) Any person using a prosthetic device which aids the hard of hearing.
It seems to me that there are several obvious ways to circumvent the law
as described above.
(1) Switch a SINGLE plug from ear to ear during your drive.
(2) Dress up your car as either a Police Car, Fork Lift, or Combine.
(3) Periodically get out and stuff Recyclables and Garbage into the front
trunk and passengers seat along the way.
(4) Read (d) again
(5) Get a Hearing Aid, which many of us may need before too long anyway.
Realistically, (d) is the answer for most applications. If you can't
find a source for molded, medically prescribed plugs, and you are real
talented in the art of persuasion, you might me able to get away with wearing
off-the-shelf foam "shooting" plugs. Some of these have decible ratings on
the package. With that information and a silver tongue you may just get the
Officer's attention off your ears and onto questions like, "Is this a kit
car?"
From: [email protected] (Dave Williams)
Subject: DeRyke's hearing loss article
To: Multiple recipients of list
From: [email protected] (Dave Williams)
Subject: Re: DeRyke's hearing loss article
To: Multiple recipients of list
-> I use them whenever I'm riding my motorcycle, and whenever I'm
-> driving the Cobra for any distance on a freeway. Wind noise is worse
-> than the exhaust
You can buy Tylenol and some other over-the-counter meds in little
plastic tubes about 5/8x2-1/2". They have a push-down-and-turn top,
designed so it won't come open in your pocket. I have a pair in each of
my jackets' pockets, one with my allergy meds, the other with a pair of
the yellow foam earplugs. The paper package of the earplugs will
disintegrate after being in your pocket long, and the paper isn't
particularly proof against pocket grunge, which I'd prefer stayed out of
my ear canals.
-> They are actually very recycleable. When new, they're extremely
-> effective, and with repeated use they start to get gunked up and lose
-> some of the ability to reduce noise. What I do is take a half-dozen
-> or so, drop them into one of my socks, tie a knot on the end and toss
-> it into the wash.
I re-use mine until they show signs of grime, then chuck them. I worry
mostly about germs and the like, as I'm prone to ear infections, which
is one reason I don't hear so well to start with...
From: [email protected] (Dave Williams)
Subject: Re: DeRyke's hearing loss article
To: Multiple recipients of list
-> maybe the traffic cops can help out here but I thought it was
-> like...a no-no to drive with headphones or earplugs on...something
-> about not hearing horns or the screams of the peasantry or something
-> like that.-Ted
That's common lots of places. Here in Arkansas it's okay to be
completely deaf, or to drive a new Mercedes with double pane soundproof
glass, or have your stereo cranked up until all the body panels
resonate. No sweat. But wearing a Walkman or headphones is a
misdemeanor and a $100 fine. Driving without a license is a lesser
offense and a $50 fine. And they enforce the hell out of the headphone
thing, while probably one out of ten cars on the road has no plates.
Why do they have no plates? Because they have no insurance...
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