There are several different types of hearing protection available. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Read through this guide to determine which hearing protection best suites your needs.
Expandable foam plugs
They are inexpensive and readily available at many local retailers. They are made of an elastic material that easily conforms to the shape of the ear canal. They can be reused, but it is not recommend to reuse someone else’s ear plugs.
Canal Caps
They are ear plugs on a flexible plastic or metal band. The tips are either pre-molded or expandable foam. The band allows you to hang the ear plugs around your neck when it is quiet. When you are about to fire up a power tool you can quickly insert them into your ears.
Earmuffs
Earmuffs come in a variety of styles and sizes. They work by completely covering the ear with a clam shell. The shell is made out of hard plastic and has soft foam covered in vinyl pad around the outer rim. The inside of the clam shell is lined with sound absorbing material usually foam.
The styles range from thick clam shells to ultra thin. The clam shells are connected to a head band that applies some tension to keep them on your ears and in place.
People who wear eye glasses and men with heavy beards may have a hard time getting a good seal. The temple arm of they eye glasses creates a gap that allows sound to enter into the earmuff. For men with heavy side burns and bears the hair may prevent a solid seal and will render earmuffs fairly unusable.
Pre-molded ear plugs
Pre-molded ear plugs are manufactured with standard sizes such as small, medium and large. Each manufacture has their own meaning of what the size means. Pre-molded ear plugs are made from silicon, rubber or plastic.
The ear plug should fit snuggle in each ear blocking out the sound. It may take some trial and error to find the right size pre-molded ear plugs to fit your ears. You might also want to experiment with the different materials they are made out of. One may work better for you than the other.
They offer several advantages, they are washable and reusable. The really nice thing is that they do not require hand rolling to insert them into the ear. So in a dusty or dirty environment you will not get your ear plugs and ears dirty when inserting the ear plugs.
What do you use?
My favorite hearing protection is ear muffs. I have a full beard which is kept trimmed to number 2 on the clippers and wear glasses. I have found that the temples of the eye glasses allow a little of the noise in, but not enough to cause any discomfort or ringing.
For mowing the lawn I use expandable foam ear plugs.
