[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by PB PM I also hear similar arguments from people who won’t use ear protection when working with loud gas powered tools. I can tell you from experience that it makes a difference in all those cases.

If I can reach any younger whippersnapper here, I can't stress the above enough.

Three-plus decades of playing music/bands and woodworking/building stuff, and only using ear protection these past 5-6 years, has been one of my biggest regrets in life. I brought this encroaching deafness/indistinct-wash-of-noise on myself by being stupid for 30+ years, too "cool" to be seen with anything in my ears in my teens, 20's/30's, and too "I need to get this done" to do so in my 30's and 40's, flipping on saws and routers and taking all that harsh noise, inches away, at full strength. Be smarter, and more responsible, than I was. Please. PS - I've never skimped on the eye protection, I'm happy to say. I took Norm's advice to heart, from day one.