The ones in the shop that listen to music with earbuds wear these. https://isotunesaudio.com
They are OHSA approved for blocking loud noise but also allow bluetooth music. The ones who did not wear ear plugs before love these and have noticed their hearing improve after a month or so of wearing them. We provide normal ear plugs and over the ear muffs but if they want these they buy them theirselves. I have bought a couple pair and given them as a bonus to ones who deserved and bonus and that I knew wanted them. I have seen buying them things they want as a bonus works good because if you give extra money it normally ends up going into the monthly budget and they don't get stuff that they want.

Ryan,

Those earbud manufacturers certainly have a well done website. It's one of the best I have ever seen. It still leaves some questions unanswered.

I can understand how OSHA approves noise canceling ear protection. What I can't figure out is how introducing a different kind of noise directly into your inner ear does not also mess with your long term hearing.

Air has mass. If you have ever stood next to a base speaker when the volume was fairly high you can actually feel the air pulsating. One of the things that air does to protect our ears is provide a cushion to soften those vibrations. If you have no cushion here the vibrations are going to make it all the way into your inner ear.

As the OSHA article Alan points out your inner ear converts noises into electronic signals that your brain interprets. If you mess this wiring up you may become more than deaf. There may, however, be tertiary benefits. For example, a nice thing about dementia is that you get to meet new people every day.

I don't expect this diatribe to change anybody's mind. People hear what they want to hear. Some of us will just be able to hear a little better later on.

These are made so that volume is limited below safe levels. This is copped from their website.

"ISOtunes® is fully committed to protecting your hearing.

More than 25 million Americans suffer from Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), many of whom have been exposed to excessive noise at work or during leisure activities. We do NOT want to add to that number, so we've taken steps to make sure we won't.

ISOtunes® signature Volume Limiting Technology ensures that our products won't damage your hearing, even when used at maximum volume for the full battery life duration.

ISOtunes® is committed to protecting your hearing. With our earphone products, we do our part to not only protect your ears from loud outside noises, but to allow you to appreciate the sounds of the world around you for years to come. "

Ryan - "...who did not wear ear plugs before love these and have noticed their hearing improve after a month...."

That is a telling sentence that makes me wonder. It cannot be true. You may be stroked.

A hearing loss will never improve. They may stop further loss (the obvious goal), but the cilia and nerves in the inner ear will never come back.

The old guys I worked with in the 70's all claimed their hearing was better than the average person's because of their exposure to the noise. None of them even knew hearing protection existed. Of course, they were nearly as deaf as a stone, but they were damn good lip readers. Their level of awareness of the situation was alarmingly low.

I think the buds are OK, but my coworker now wears a pair of DeWalt earmuffs with corded music from his phone. Noise limitations are built in. Things get too loud with shop noise and the electronic feed is shut down. I think muffs will stop the shop noise better (rated NRR 25). You can get Bluetooth for another $30-$35 if you like.

I guess I worded that wrong the ones who didn't wear ear plugs before were mored used to the noise, now they say if they don't have their ear plugs in everything seems way louder than they remember it before.

Ryan,

I think what we have here are subjective responses to something to that is hard to measure but nonetheless prevalent.

A simpler way to put this might be that you are willing to ignore the risk because you would rather listen to the music.

This is similar to what we see in PeeWee football. The science tells us that these contact sports scramble people's brains and that the effects are cumulative. The dialog generally morphs out from there to how life ought to be.

You can convince yourself of anything. If you want to believe pushing noise into your inner ear is perfectly safe then you will even believe that those:

"...who did not wear ear plugs before love these and have noticed their hearing improve after a month...."

Like I said, it is a great looking website.

Cabmaker,
Lots of guys use rhe Bose noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones, some guys use the cheaper head phones with the fm/am radio, they offer ear protection at the same time.

You say you have an employee who you can’t get to where safety glasses or take out his earbuds? If this is true you have way bigger issues than this forum can provide answers to. That person would be looking for a new job after a verbal and written order. Your comment about having no employees left if you didn’t babysit them, well to be honest that just plain scares the crap out of me. Now days with workers comp inspection, safety mtgs, safety training and wcb rates you can not afford to have to many accidents. Companies go for years with no lost days.
It sounds like in your shop you need every machine to be made by saw stop.

Please tell me what I am missing here? Reading this post was time well wasted. The OP asked a question about music, great question for a shop, a lot of good answers. Next, the OP goes on and on, baffles us with BS and answers his own question. Why bother asking, out!

Scott,

Did you learn anything about how hearing loss is related to dementia?

Most of the people on this forum are now familiar with the relationship between CTE injuries and professional football players. I would guess not many of them know that these same CTE injuries are linked to hearing loss.

Do you not think a discussion about hearing loss is somehow germane to people who work around loud machinery?

My policy is that you can listen to music at work as long it is mariachi music.

Er ah oh that's right that is the policy of every construction site in Calif anyway.

Music cannot be played loud enough in our shop to hear it.

In our quieter areas we do allow music, but it must be played at a level that does not interfere with normal communication (it is my judgement what "normal" is).

It has not been an issue, but I would not allow ear buds under muff protectors, and would not allow the BT type speaker/ear muff things either. It's hard enough getting someone's attention when equipment is operating in the best of conditions (IMO, foam ear plugs, 30+ NRR).

I suppose it should go without saying, but the above is all in reference to paid working hours. Break/lunch time they can do what they want.

In my small shop I am always concerned enough that my guys have full focus on their tools and operations. Them fumbling around with phones in their pockets, switching up their pandora playlist, sneaking a peek at the facbook or snapchat that just blooped through their ear phones, getting a little "jiggy with it" when a song comes on and they are ripping a piece of 8/4 hard maple on the saw.... I am too worried about finding fingers on the floor.

No music, and no headphones. While your at work, your at work. There are times when we are doing a lot of sanding or other type of work that we will turn a radio on for a while but even then I quickly see the glazed over effect.

Wish it wasnt the case, but work time is work time, a different crew could likely outperform us with music and videos playing. Not the case here.

I have thought about this subject for years, and honestly can be persuaded by any position above.

But I think there is an underlying operative at work. Just as some look at drug abuse as a medical problem and others look at it as a legal/moral problem, music while you work can viewed in the same framework.

Heck, music has enough of a bad rap as it is, as we learned in "Footloose!" Here in the Bible Belt, there are those that see tapping toes as immoral activity.

I think this cultural fog may have floated into the discussion, and some think that listening to music equals pleasure, and "...gol' durn it, you jest ain't supposed to be enjoyin' the work! I do not pay you to enjoy yourself!"

I think the work/focus/safety thing and the no enjoyment thing are mixed in our unconscious view (just as in the drug addiction analogy). I know that is where I can be persuaded. I prefer safe, silent, focused workers. But I also like smiling workers that may do a few 'steps' on their way across the shop, or some licks on the air guitar.

David,
Your post is "music to my ears" lol. And I am sitting here typing this response with a crazy playlist in my ears.

I do fear though when I walk out into the shop that the distraction will result in problems. Even for myself. A great song comes on and the dynamic changes. When it changes at the right time its a ton of fun.

I need to get over my worry that if that dynamic changes when the saw is running its a bad thing.

Covering the overhead, and the comp, can make us all curmudgeons.