Are Your Properly Protecting Your Ears?

With spring now upon us, you might be taking on more jobs outside, such as cutting branches or working on a construction site. These types of jobs require power saws and other loud tools, and whenever you’re working with things that produce noise, it’s imperative to protect your ears. At Abolox® Safety, we have earmuffs and earplugs that will help reduce the decibels and shield your hearing from harm.

So how loud are certain power tools and other things that you might use on a daily basis? In this post, we’ll look at some of the more common tools and the decibels they can produce, as well as how you can decide between earplugs and earmuffs.

While you may use a handsaw from time to time to cut small pieces of wood, you’re likely using power saws for most of your cutting on the job site. Table saws, chop saws, and tile saws all produce quite a bit of noise, which is why it’s important to cover your ears when using these tools. A table saw, for example, produces approximately 93 decibels. Any prolonged exposure to noise above 90 decibels can produce gradual hearing loss. A chop saw or circular saw can often top 100 decibels, and if your ears are uncovered, you could damage your hearing in a very short period of time.

If you’re working on chopping down branches or cutting up timber with a chainsaw, keep in mind that a typical chainsaw produces around 120 decibels. At this level, even a few minutes of noise exposure can permanently damage your hearing.

Your spring and summer jobs may include new construction, which means you’ll have a hammer in your hand for a few weeks. You may even get to use the nail gun in order to put studs in place or secure new siding. A hammer pounding a nail produces between 120-140 decibels, so it’s a good idea to have your ears covered while you’re working. A nail gun that’s connected to an air compressor can produce even higher decibels, and since you’re going to be holding the gun near your face and head, it’s imperative that your earmuffs are in place.

You’ve probably worked with many people who don’t take any precautions when it comes to hearing protection on the job site. Perhaps they’ve worked with loud tools for so long that they aren’t worried about losing any more hearing. However, if you’re reading this, you probably still care about your hearing, and site or government regulations may require you to wear earmuffs or earplugs.

When it comes to deciding between earplugs and earmuffs, you’ll want to think about how much noise you’ll be dealing with, and what you’ll need in terms of Noise Reduction Rate (NRR). Your standard disposable earplugs may not have as high of a NRR as a well-made pair of earmuffs, and you can find both options in our online store. If you’re not going to be working directly with power tools, but want to protect your hearing from the general noise of the job site, then earplugs could be the best option.

If you’ll be handling the saws, nail guns, and other power tools, then earmuffs are a must. You can check the NRR on each pair to decide which one is best for you, and keep in mind that each pair has to be approved by the American National Standards (ANSI) and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) in order to be offered to the public.

Hearing protection is an integral part of any job site, and if you’re going to be outside this spring and summer cutting things down or building new houses, then make sure your ears are covered.