Just saw the stats on how many boilermakers retire with hearing damage... 73% according to NIOSH

I was looking at some old safety reports from the 90s (bored at home, you know) and stumbled on a NIOSH study from 1992. They tracked boilermakers for 10 years and found 73% had measurable hearing loss by retirement. That's nearly 3 out of 4 guys. And we still have old heads who refuse to wear earplugs on the job (my partner Jeff is one of them). I get that plugs are annoying in the heat but man, is a lifetime of tinnitus worth it? Any of you guys know someone who's actually gone deaf from this trade?

3 comments

3 Comments

juliarodriguez1mo ago

Ever tried those foam ones that mold to your ear?

corap211mo ago

Man, the Comply ones are a lifesaver for commuting (especially on the bus). I tried a pair once and it was wild how much quieter everything got, like the whole world just... stopped. Totally get the ick factor with the foam shoving though, I had to swap back to silicone after a week because I couldn't stop fixating on the pressure.

margaretramirez1mo ago

the first time i tried the Comply foam tips for my shure iems i was genuinely surprised at how much better the noise isolation was vs silicone. @juliarodriguez they really do block out pretty much everything once they warm up and expand in your ear canal. downside is they wear out after like a month or two of daily use so you gotta buy more packs. also some people hate the feeling of pushing foam all the way in there but i got used to it pretty quick.