Ear Defenders for gardening

[oldskir]

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend some good ear defenders (headphone type) to use when mowing the lawn. I have quite a loud Flymo.

Ideally some that might allow some foam ear plugs to be used as well, without them being squashed/ pushed too far in to the ear canal.

All recommendations welcome. With the level of T I have now, I'm determined to stop noise making it any worse, and looking for the maximum protection I can get.

[doglover1973]

Hi oldskir I bought Alpine music safe earmuffs (£20) to go to the dentist. They reduce noise by 25 decibels on average. Very comfortable. You can wear earplugs underneath. No problem. They're compact & light to carry too .

[Hidden]

I bought 3M Optime 105 (which has Peltor imprinted on each earpiece) years ago to work in the garden. My son, who is six foot six, could drive in, park his car, walk up behind me and tap me on the shoulder before I knew he was there. There was a busy road on the other side of the garden fence not fifty feet away and I couldn't hear the traffic at all. I now live in an apartment and use the same head set when the building maintenance men are working, the snow ploughs are out, or any noise gets too much for me.I've had serious hyperacusis since the bombing raids of the Battle of Britain and the Blitz in 1940 when I was a baby and lived in Kent and I can very seriously, highly recommend this headset for cutting out noise. I don't know if that model is still available but 3M's latest model probably works even better.

Hope this helps - it's a noisy world and getting noisier with every passing day -

[oldskir in reply to Hidden]

Dear Megan,

Thank you so much for your reply. Those headphones sound like just what I am looking for. Would you be able to give me an idea of how heavy they are?

I'm so sorry to hear of your hyperacusis, and that you have suffered with that for many years. I have T with mild/moderate hearing loss, but not hyperacusis.

I'm really determined now to do all I can to prevent my problems getting any worse. I really wish I had never gone to all those rock concerts I attended in the late 60s/early 70s, I certainly suffered some T and hearing loss from that. There didn't seem to be as much awareness of noise damage back then, and certainly far less choice and availabilty of suitable ear plugs.

[Hidden in reply to oldskir]

I remember well when the warnings about concerts and plugged in music began to be nagged into kid's heads. My two boys certainly had a regular earful from me! Now my grand-daughter - 17 - is plugged in permanently and her dad checks the volume frequently. The carpet upstairs is being replaced today so I already had them on my head - they weigh 10.5 ounces. I usually keep receipts and manuals but can't find this one however, this will tell you all about them. 3mcanada.ca/3M/en_CA/p/d/v0...

and mine are definitely that one. I don't know where you are but hope this helps and good luck finding a supplier locally. It's 3M - shouldn't be a problem!

And they are comfortable and very adjustable to fit well . . . and I miss my gardens . .

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

That link doesn't seem to have copied properly - I'll try again

3mcanada.ca/3M/en_CA/p/d/v0...

[Hidden]

Sorry - that didn't help - it begins as usual with

h t t p s : / / w w w

and ends

v0000tw870/

I'll make this thing to do what it's told if it takes me all day !!

[oldskir in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for all your help, Megan.

I'm in the UK, so I can buy from this supplier here:

screwfix.com/p/3m-peltor-op...