How to Select and Use Hearing Protection | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House host Kevin O’Connor discusses the importance of hearing protection when working around power tools. SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse Cost: $5 and Up Skill Level: Beginner Shopping List: Over the Ear Protection In Ear Foam Plugs Steps: 1. Hearing loss affects 30 million US adults and the damage is cumulative. 2. Exposure to sounds over 85 dB is considered harmful. 3. A good rule of thumb is if you need to shout to talk to someone standing at arm’s length, you should be wearing hearing protection. 4. Ear muffs block out mid frequency sounds like general shop noise, but they don’t do as well with low frequency sounds. 5. Foam ear plugs will block both mid and low frequency sounds. 6. Foam ear plugs should be rolled in the finger to be compressed, then tug on your ear, and place the plug into your ear canal to let it expand. 7. Keep hearing protection in a convenient spot so you’re more likely to reach for it. Resources: The hearing protection that Kevin demonstrated, including over the ear and ear plugs were manufactured by 3M Safety (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/worker-he.... Personal Protective Equipment, including ear protection, can be purchased at home centers and hardware stores. About Ask This Old House TV: Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook. Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter http://bit.ly/AskTOHTwitter Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG http://bit.ly/AskTOHIG Tumblr: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTumblr For more on This Old House and Ask This Old House, visit us at: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseWebsite How to Select and Use Hearing Protection | Ask This Old House    / thisoldhouse