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Why Woodworkers Should Wear Hearing Protection.

Woodworkers truly should want to consider clearly how amazing that it is to have the natural ability to hear. Woodworkers simply have taken this tool for granted, by thinking that it doesn't matter what we do, the morning of a new day will bring the beautiful sounds birds singing. Are you aware that our ear drums have the ability to distinguish four hundred 1000 distinct tones? Anyway I didn't have a hint untill I actually seen this, plus check this out, our ears can easily pick up on sounds so extremely muted they'll trigger our eardrum to vibrate under 1/80 millionth of 1 inch. Yes you're right this is where I give you the bad news, our hearing with this amazing level of sensitivity doesn't feature a lifetime warranty. But the good news is you have the necessary tools avaible to preserve your ability to hear, it is important to wear "hearing protection". Excessive sound is just as much a part of how we live as the particular air we all breathe. We're subjected to noises almost all the time irrespective of where you might be. However , whenever we happen to be at risk in destroying the ear drum,such as operating any circular saw, there aren't any warnimg bell which can go off. We should nevertheless be conscious, and use hearing protection.

Woodworkers Class For How The Ear Works.

I know, just what does this have to to with building a woodworking project. Well I just thought it would be helpful to understand how the ear works, I will try not to bore you too much. Your ear has three main parts the outer, middle, and inner ear. The outer ear (pinna) collects sound waves and directs them into the external auditory canal. With hearing protection we can lessen the amount of noise. The eardrum separates the auditory canal from the middle ear. Small bones in the middle ear transfer sound to the inner ear. The inner ear contains the cochlea, the main sensory organ for hearing, and nerve endings leading to the brain. Woodworkers you see how this works, now all sounds produce waves. Sound waves funnel through the opening in your outer ear, travel down the auditory canal, and strike the eardrum, causing it to vibrate.This is where hearing protection saves our hearing. The vibrations pass the small bones of the middle ear, which transmit them to sensory cells - called hair cells located in the cochlea. The vibrations become nerve impulses and go directly to the brain, which interprets the impulses as sound.

Woodworkers 85 Decibels Wear Hearing Protection

Ok woodworkers now that we know how our hearing works to processes noise or sound let's discuss how sound is measured. Decibels measure the pressure of sound. Frequency is related to a sound'spitch and is measured in units called hertz, or cycles per second. The pitch of a sound, how high or low it seems, is how you perceive its frequency; the higher the pitch, the higher the frequency. High frequency sounds are generally more annoying than low frequency sounds and annoyiny means you should have on hearing protection. Human hearing is most sensitive to frequencies between 3,000 and 4,000 hertz. That's why people with damaged hearing have difficulty understanding higher-pitched voices and other sounds in that range.

Circular Saws Can Damage Woodworkers Hearing

Okay, here is something you might want to ponder, a circular saw that all woodworkers use will put out sound levels of 105 decibels, a miter saw as much as 113 decibels, a jig saw around 98 decibels, and an orbital sander 87 decibels. Now check this out, most all hearing specialists agree, You can damage your hearing when noise level is greater than 85 decibels over eight hours. As sound levels rise above 85 decibels, the safe exposure time for woodworkers and others without hearing protection falls dramatically. For example, 110 decibel sound can impair hearing after only 15 minutes exposure. Listen up woodworkers, yes, this is ment to be a warning, wear hearing protection!

By: Larry Gabbard

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