# Ear protection from loud sound of Engine



## Henry Jordan

I have been to ship's engine room for sometime. It is too noisy there. 
I wonder how ship's engineers spend most of their time in the engine room in that loud noise.


----------



## chadburn

Keeping busy, if you are working on equipment you tend to forget about the noise, unless, you hear a different one and then you take notice and start looking around.


----------



## Derek Roger

Ear plugs or Ear Defenders . It is a requirement is this day and age . Derek


----------



## gordy

Ear plugs AND ear protectors on offshore platforms.

We had 7 water injection pumps each driven by 3.5 Mw electric motors through speed increasing g/boxes up to 6,000 rpm.

When 6 were running and one being worked on the noise was incredible. No insulation round the boxes.

I'm protecting what's left of my hearing when riding my motorbike by using ear plugs to reduce whind noise from helmet.

I think I lost some hearing while on Blue Flue steam turbine ships. Taking readings beside HP turbine was painfull.


----------



## billyboy

I have sound of a turbo charger whistling away 24/7. Tinitus! no ear defenders around when i was down below.


----------



## GWB

Never had problem on turbine job with noise unless we had the diesel gennies running, was always great when turbo gennies went on line and diesel shut down it was peaceful. On an other job had six eight cylinder Mirlles running that was a tad noisey, but had no effect on my hearing but could pick out the unusual noise if it occurred.


----------



## Henry Jordan

I have read an article according to which that continual exposure to more than 85 decibels is dangerous. One should always wear ear plug whenever in a noisy room like Engine Room of ship.


----------



## Satanic Mechanic

Its not just a matter of wearing hearing protection - you have to wear the right one. The 'industry standard' for years was the Bilsom Comfort muffs. which as it turned out did not filter out many of the loudest frequencies in a standard engine room. If you like plugs they offer the highest protection but personally I find them painful, dirty and with too much attenuation. I tend to work on the ENT doctors advice that the only thing to stick in your ear is your elbow. Muffs wise I use Peltor Optime 3's these days usually the neckband type so I can wear a hard hat if required. Good attenuation all round with a frequency attenuation that actually lets me hear things change much better than without ear protection but not so bad as to filter everything out. It is my opinion that they are tuned so well that they filter out the noise that stop me hearing other things ie I hear better with them than without. We are planning a wee trial with active muffs as well - should be interesting.

If you are not wearing any - hell mend you - its not macho or anything - just bloody stoopid - you dont get another chance and the ears dont repair themselves.


----------



## chadburn

chadburn said:


> Keeping busy, if you are working on equipment you tend to forget about the noise, unless, you hear a different one and then you take notice and start looking around.


I must add that this comment was made on how things use to be pre the 1982 Noise at Work Act after which Companies started to sit up and take notice regarding noise mapping and defining area's where ear protection MUST be worn.


----------



## Satanic Mechanic

chadburn said:


> I must add that this comment was made on how things use to be pre the 1982 Noise at Work Act after which Companies started to sit up and take notice regarding noise mapping and defining area's where ear protection MUST be worn.


True - still took them a while to figure out that a not all protection was the same mind - plenty of ships to this day carry something tasty from the gardening section at B&Q.

You see a lot of peeps being more careful regarding their hearing these days - motorcyclist and band musicians in particular.

The Bilsom Comfort thing came from when I went for a medical a few years ago and was astonished to discover a mid range dip in my hearing, I have always been super careful about hearing protection. The dip was still above the threshold but the doc said it was typical industrial deterioration - and then asked if I had been wearing Bilsom Comforts (BoT doc - in the morning so still sober(*)))- wrong type, wrong frequency profile, wrong attenuation - just wrong. If I dip below the threshold there are going to be two major oil companies with a cheap lawyer after them.


----------



## kewl dude

All we had back in my day was medical cotton that we packed in our ears before going on watch, then discarded afterwards to be replaced with new pieces next watch.

Outside of background tinnitus I have no hearing problems to speak of today, I am not a hearing aid candidate.

Greg Hayden


----------



## Duncan112

Used to swear by Peltors myself - any ship chandler trying to fob the ship off with DIY type got sent away and told to come back with what was ordered. One other thing that is often neglected is the regular replacement of the pads and internals - they go hard and become a health hazard with the sweat etc that ac***ulates. It's also worth remembering that use of a neck band or muffs attached to a hard hat reduces the effectiveness of the defenders - another gem picked up from the little piece of paper instructions that comes with the muffs but everyone throws away without reading.


----------



## Klaatu83

Sometimes it's not much better on deck. On some ships the noise from the mooring winches is absolutely deafening, especially when the mooring station is below deck. However, the worst I ever experienced was working inside the cargo decks aboard a RO-RO. Between the roar of the diesel engines of the trucks we were loading, the rattle of the lashing chains, and the howl of the ventilation blowers, the noise inside was absolutely painful. What made it even worse was that the Chief Mate would not allow us to wear any ear protection because, he insisted, we would not then be able to hear him calling us on our radios, which, under the cir***stances, we couldn't possibly have heard anyway!


----------



## surfaceblow

Klaatus83

I sailed quite a few RO/RO's and also had problems with noise and radio communication within the Engineroom and cargo holds. We got a bunch of Headphones and mike's to use for bunkering and troubleshooting the automation. The only problem with them there were only four set's and they disappeared during the cargo operations which I did not mind but the Deck Department would not return them when we needed them.

Joe


----------



## duncs

Satanic Mechanic said:


> Its not just a matter of wearing hearing protection - you have to wear the right one. The 'industry standard' for years was the Bilsom Comfort muffs. which as it turned out did not filter out many of the loudest frequencies in a standard engine room. If you like plugs they offer the highest protection but personally I find them painful, dirty and with too much attenuation. I tend to work on the ENT doctors advice that the only thing to stick in your ear is your elbow. Muffs wise I use Peltor Optime 3's these days usually the neckband type so I can wear a hard hat if required. Good attenuation all round with a frequency attenuation that actually lets me hear things change much better than without ear protection but not so bad as to filter everything out. It is my opinion that they are tuned so well that they filter out the noise that stop me hearing other things ie I hear better with them than without. We are planning a wee trial with active muffs as well - should be interesting.
> 
> If you are not wearing any - hell mend you - its not macho or anything - just bloody stoopid - you dont get another chance and the ears dont repair themselves.


SM, the description of your Peltor Optime 3 earmuffs sounds as if they would work as a hearing aid for me, re filtering frequencies etc. Are they electronic gadgets?
Fully concur with your last paragraph. Too late for me.

rgds D


----------



## Mechanic-H

I always wore ear muffs and after leaving the MN, went on to train as a piano tuner, passing the tests.
The one time at sea, my hearing let me down was when on a maiden voyage, standing on the bottom plates with the Chief Engineer. Observing oil coming out of the ME oil drains, he turned to me and asked to fetch the Guarantee Chief.
Unfortunately I thought he was asking for the Guarantee Sheet and just laughed.


----------



## kevin morgan

We had an Indian Donkey Greaser aboard who used to put a USA 5c piece in each ear - mv Port Chalmers (1980).


----------



## sandym19

Mechanic-H said:


> The one time at sea, my hearing let me down was when on a maiden voyage, standing on the bottom plates with the Chief Engineer. Observing oil coming out of the ME oil drains, he turned to me and asked to fetch the Guarantee Chief.
> Unfortunately I thought he was asking for the Guarantee Sheet and just laughed.


(==D) ROFLMAO I had a very similar experience


----------



## funnelstays

http://www.howardleight.com/hearing-protection

These are the Standard throughout Columbus CSG fleet.
All are company supplied


----------



## gordy

funnelstays said:


> http://www.howardleight.com/hearing-protection
> 
> These are the Standard throughout Columbus CSG fleet.
> All are company supplied


I use the Lazerlites on my bike, terrific plugs.

My loss of hearing never deteriorated after I moved from Merchant Navy to oil & gas installations.
My 1st medical on joining Shell Expro highlighted the loss of high frequency hearing in one ear.
They supplied Peltors muffs and good plugs and I used both at times, sometimes while off shift trying to sleep. A diesel driven winch sitting on top of your cabin tends to call for that(Cloud)

While on the Brent Charlie during commissioning, the fairly frequent blackouts resulted in a few precious minutes of total silence.
Standing against an Avon engine on full chat was an unbelievable noise but somehow invigorating, a beautiful piece of machinery.
Allegedly along with the Viscount the only UK commercial aiviation products to turn a profit:sweat:


----------



## ART6

gordy said:


> I use the Lazerlites on my bike, terrific plugs.
> 
> My loss of hearing never deteriorated after I moved from Merchant Navy to oil & gas installations.
> My 1st medical on joining Shell Expro highlighted the loss of high frequency hearing in one ear.
> They supplied Peltors muffs and good plugs and I used both at times, sometimes while off shift trying to sleep. A diesel driven winch sitting on top of your cabin tends to call for that(Cloud)
> 
> While on the Brent Charlie during commissioning, the fairly frequent blackouts resulted in a few precious minutes of total silence.
> Standing against an Avon engine on full chat was an unbelievable noise but somehow invigorating, a beautiful piece of machinery.
> Allegedly along with the Viscount the only UK commercial aiviation products to turn a profit:sweat:


While serving my time on the Clyde I worked on new builds on the slips with riveting crews working beside me. Then at sea as an engineer in turbine ships, one of which made a hell of a noise continuously from the main steam lines. Ashore after marriage (and the end of adventure!), and engineer in a power station. After some years I began to wonder why it was that in company, in a bar with friends say, I had difficulty in understanding what was being said. I took a hearing test in a hospital, and the result was "noise induced hearing loss." Now I have almost no hearing in my right ear, and a very reduced range of reception in my left. That doesn't matter too much to me any longer, as I tend to ignore everyone anyway!

Years later my son joined a rock band as their lead guitarist, and they were quite successful -- made records for Warner and won national competitions. No. 1 son invited my wife and I to a concert they were putting on, and we had front row seats. The stage seemed to be filled with enormous amplifiers, and when what they called music started, it was deafening. I could feel my chest pulsating to the overwhelming bass beat, and my hearing was defective anyway. The sound levels seemed to me to be worse that any I had encountered near a riveting crew or in an engine room.

It took some years after leaving the sea for my hearing to really deteriorate, but according to the specialists that was normal. As the slow deprivations of age work away, the problem gets worse, and that worries me. I tried to warn No.1 son with no effect, but I do wonder, given the deafening noise in nightclubs and, nowadays in even pubs, are we steadily creating a race of people who will never hear the sounds of the wind drifting through the trees, or the rustle of the bracken on the moor, will never be able to hold a quiet conversation among a group of people all of whom are chattering?

Now we know what excessive sound can do, and still we ignore it just as we did when I started out in my career. We just ignore it in the wrong places. No employer would be permitted to expose me to the noise levels I experience in my youth, but the "entertainment" industry, apparently, can with impunity.


----------



## RayJordandpo

We were issued with custom made ear plugs on one rig I was on. A specialist came on board and took individual ear impressions which were sent away for moulds to be made and then made into superb quality ear plugs. Very expensive though, I believe well over a hundred pound a pair.


----------



## ccurtis1

I was unfortunate enough to sail upon a small chemical tanker with twin medium speed engines. The noise and vibrations at sea were dreadful, but even in port, the noise was unacceptable as the cargo pumps were driven by, if memory serves correctly, Lucas Power Packs. I did my three months and never again ventured near a small chemical tanker as I blame that one stint for my hearing difficulties today. The vessel? La Quinta owned by Buries Markes.


----------



## Abbeywood.

*Hearing problems in the E.Room.*

Thanks to the combined efforts of Brown,Boveri, and Napier turbo's attached to Sulzers and to Ruston, Davey,Paxman and Dorman auxiliaries, I am now the proud owner of two hearing aids, even though I wore ear-defenders for the better part of 30 years 
Appears to be a case of too little and much too late. but it helped my lip-reading.


----------



## Split

Yes, the engineroom is a noisy place but it is surprising how ten days of waxed up ears, until the doctor's appointment can make one realise how noisy public places are. This has just been cured for me by the good old ear syringe and the noise of the louderspeaker on the metro is terrible. Barcelona is a very nouisy place, they seem to like the company. The brakes on the trains are horrendous in comparison to the good, old, London tube trains, that seem to glide, soundlessly, to a stop and, just before the doors close, there is a horrendous, pipping, noise to warn us that they, in fact, closing.


----------



## Riptide

Abbeywood. said:


> Thanks to the combined efforts of Brown,Boveri, and Napier turbo's attached to Sulzers and to Ruston, Davey,Paxman and Dorman auxiliaries, I am now the proud owner of two hearing aids, even though I wore ear-defenders for the better part of 30 years
> Appears to be a case of too little and much too late. but it helped my lip-reading.


Ah the memories,I now have a permanent hiss like that from a bust air hose.I spent about 2yrs while serving my apprenticeship in boiler shop with pneumatic riveting hammers,where I think a lot of the damage was done.Then to sea & the engine room which didn't help a either.This was between 1955-70s.Always ware ear protection they stop a lot of problems later in life.Kenny


----------



## jayteeah

*earb protection*

My company issued ear protectors only when they were forced to by the BOT in 1969, however only the engineers got them. Cadets and crew were not included for several years


----------



## benchallam

*A differant noise*

at presant i am proud owner of two hearing aids which i need,and as a lecky i did not have the hours of engineroom noise like the engineers.no my fault was for 50 years i was a amateur radio ham
[ GM4AOX ] morse my interest,all that time of dit dah done for me!
i am no longer active in the radio line,let my licence lapse,so it is not allways the big diesel or turbo,i must say,i like the quiet world,just slip out of my ears to paradise.mind you the headphones are great for the tv.


----------



## Dumah54

Lost a certain amount of my hearing due to Detroit 6-71s, very common over here for generators, vertually no droop, but you paid for it with your ears. Back in the day it was discouraged as you would "not be able to detect a possible fault" so said an old Scot. 

Cheers, Dumah,
Halifax, NS


----------



## spongebob

I was fitted with new latest style wi-fi hearing aids today as replacements for one lost during my recent stay in hospital.
The advance in performance over the seven year old model is amazing, the previously comfortable TV volume setting of 23 can now be backed off to 16 and all sounds are sharpened. 
The turn indicators on the car now click audibly enough to ensure that I switch them off after use and I an now aware that there is an engine under the bonnet.
A new world!

Bob


----------



## steamer659

After 37 years in our industry (25 years at sea)... My hearing has suffered a bit I would say, today (on a Slow Speed M/V) I wear plugs with muffs over them on most days... However, the loudest that I can remember was when I sailed as Oiler aboard a Victory (USNS Kingsport); those Sturteyvant Steam Turbine Forced Draft Blowers were loud!


----------



## Basil

billyboy said:


> I have sound of a turbo charger whistling away 24/7. Tinitus! no ear defenders around when i was down below.


Me too. Sounds in good nick and running smoothly 

On some big jets the external walkround was past the air conditioning packs which made just the same noise. The turbo feed pumps on steam turbines were right at our feet on the control platform.

Buggah! The pitch just went up - better go and have a look [=P]


----------



## Brian Smither

steamer659 said:


> After 37 years in our industry (25 years at sea)... My hearing has suffered a bit I would say, today (on a Slow Speed M/V) I wear plugs with muffs over them on most days... However, the loudest that I can remember was when I sailed as Oiler aboard a Victory (USNS Kingsport); those Sturteyvant Steam Turbine Forced Draft Blowers were loud!


HMS Diamond full power trial Loch Goil 1950's 4 steam turbine forced draught fans flat out trying to maintain 21" air pressure, 18 sprayers at full pressure. Reserve feed pumps banging away supplementing the main feed pump. At the end of the run the ERA in the engine room decreases revs a bit too quick, can't get the sprayers off quick enough, safetys lift - now that's a noise to be reckoned with, can't hear a thing for minutes afterwards. That's why I wear 2 hearing aids now!

Exiting stuff for a 17 year old but never imagining the consequences. No ear protection then, that came much later and then only earplugs that didn't help much.
Happy days!


----------



## chadburn

Floating the Safety's either by accident or design was indeed something not forgotten and as you have indicated the penalty of having no ear protection lives with us today.


----------



## sandhopper

Sorry to bore all and sundry with the British Noise Regulations:

The 1989 Regulations specified a noise level of 85db (Leq) whereby ear defenders if desired by employee had to be supplied. If the noise level was 90db(Leq) and above then ear defenders had to be supplied and it was a requirement to wear such PPE. The peak noise level was 200 Pascals
The update of 2005 i.e. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations moved the first action level down to 80db (leq) and the second action level down to 85db (leq). Where Leq is the noise equivalent value averaged over an 8 hour working day. The peak value became 140db.
The other major change was that in the 2005 regulations there is a specific requirement to conduct health surveillance where there is a risk to health.
Unfortunately, seafaring has an international flavour and British regs do not apply. Furthermore, I know that domestic service and possibly seafaring was exempt from HASWA 1974


----------



## chadburn

sandhopper said:


> Sorry to bore all and sundry with the British Noise Regulations:
> 
> The 1989 Regulations specified a noise level of 85db (Leq) whereby ear defenders if desired by employee had to be supplied. If the noise level was 90db(Leq) and above then ear defenders had to be supplied and it was a requirement to wear such PPE. The peak noise level was 200 Pascals
> The update of 2005 i.e. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations moved the first action level down to 80db (leq) and the second action level down to 85db (leq). Where Leq is the noise equivalent value averaged over an 8 hour working day. The peak value became 140db.
> The other major change was that in the 2005 regulations there is a specific requirement to conduct health surveillance where there is a risk to health.
> Unfortunately, seafaring has an international flavour and British regs do not apply. Furthermore, I know that domestic service and possibly seafaring was exempt from HASWA 1974


I made a fair amount of money visiting Works around the Country from the 1982 Noise at Work Regulations when I came out of the M.N. The full bespoke,from noise mapping to making the enclosures and post rectification mapping with the Company and Union Reps in 
attendance if it was required.


----------



## Dickyboy

Slightly off tangent, but still about hearing/listening in the E/R
Does anyone recall the little phone type hoods which when stood underneath, would cut out the loud noise and help the engineers identify any odd clicks, whirrs and thumps that might be coming from machinery, that couldn't be heard over the general racket of an engine room?
Not described it very well, and I'm sure such hoods had a proper name.


----------



## Varley

Dickyboy said:


> Slightly off tangent, but still about hearing/listening in the E/R
> Does anyone recall the little phone type hoods which when stood underneath, would cut out the loud noise and help the engineers identify any odd clicks, whirrs and thumps that might be coming from machinery, that couldn't be heard over the general racket of an engine room?
> Not described it very well, and I'm sure such hoods had a proper name.


I thought those were to mark the siting of a PABX or SP telephone at distance. I had no idea they were suppose to have any auditory effect. All ours must have been broken!


----------



## Dickyboy

Perhaps I was wrong about them, but as I recall there was no comm's equipment in them. I believed they were just to stick your head under to cut out general din of the E/R. They did work at that when I stood inside them to see what effect they had on noise. Mind you, I once believed that the Moon was made of green cheese as well.


----------



## surfaceblow

Varley said:


> I thought those were to mark the siting of a PABX or SP telephone at distance. I had no idea they were suppose to have any auditory effect. All ours must have been broken!


On the ships that I sailed they had a label on them with "Hear Here"


----------



## John Briggs

I certainly sailed on at least one ship that had one with the Bridge/ER phone in it.


----------



## david freeman

*noise*



Henry Jordan said:


> I have been to ship's engine room for sometime. It is too noisy there.
> I wonder how ship's engineers spend most of their time in the engine room in that loud noise.


I am not quite sure what answer you are looking for? Steam was relatively a quiet hum, The Boiler ID and FD fans had a whine,
Doxfords, B&W with rotory blowers and scavenge pumps (Before the high pitched whine of the Blowers), and the Diesel 4 Strioke auxilaries, one often felt for vibrations and held ones ear to the ME crank case for that bottom end knock, with or without a sounding stick(Implement)?
In all hearing(Wave) was important part of the watch.
I must agree with the advent of medium speed diesels and M/E Blown then one needed hearing protection: But hey what happened to that phenomenon of a good vibration, and that comely noise of trouble?
Are you all gauge watchers these days or watchkeepers?(Bounce)(Read)(Fly)
Answers on a post card please- Not rude suggestions.


----------



## retfordmackem

Abbeywood. said:


> Thanks to the combined efforts of Brown,Boveri, and Napier turbo's attached to Sulzers and to Ruston, Davey,Paxman and Dorman auxiliaries, I am now the proud owner of two hearing aids, even though I wore ear-defenders for the better part of 30 years
> Appears to be a case of too little and much too late. but it helped my lip-reading.


Same hear Abbeywood 2 state funded hearing aids (at last -something from my taxes),I too wore ear defenders at all my jobs ,underground in the mines ,power station,steel works,BP lecky . I never realised how bad it was until I watched Countdown a few years ago and wrote the letters and numbers down without looking at the screen .Then realised they were nearly all wrong .(has anyone else tried that?).
Trouble is with my hearing loss being in the speech range,with the aids in I can hear whats going on across the room but have to lip read people sat next to me. 
Did the ear defenders not work then? as i had worn them from 1963. 
My xmas presents most recently have been earphones to wear when watching TV so everyone else can watch without being deafened .


----------



## tiachapman

anyone put a deafness claim in?


----------



## sandhopper

tiachapman said:


> anyone put a deafness claim in?


.

Don't know about the MN deafness claims, decades since I was in it. I do know that the claims process does eventually filter through. At the moment a very profitable, multi-site manufacturing group are being hauled through. Seems that safety may have been rather lax.


----------



## surfaceblow

david freeman said:


> I am not quite sure what answer you are looking for? Steam was relatively a quiet hum, The Boiler ID and FD fans had a whine,
> Doxfords, B&W with rotory blowers and scavenge pumps (Before the high pitched whine of the Blowers), and the Diesel 4 Strioke auxilaries, one often felt for vibrations and held ones ear to the ME crank case for that bottom end knock, with or without a sounding stick(Implement)?
> In all hearing(Wave) was important part of the watch.
> I must agree with the advent of medium speed diesels and M/E Blown then one needed hearing protection: But hey what happened to that phenomenon of a good vibration, and that comely noise of trouble?
> Are you all gauge watchers these days or watchkeepers?(Bounce)(Read)(Fly)
> Answers on a post card please- Not rude suggestions.


Most of the Motor Vessels that I sailed on were Unattended Machinery Spaces. So most of the time the computer watches over the machinery. During the day the duty engineer will make rounds and tend to the daily housekeeping tasks of checking oil and water levels, changing filters strainers etc. topping up service tanks. They also make a round about 11 at night. 

Joe


----------



## Duncan112

Sadly, I found that the standard of watchkeeping was much lower from Engineers that had only experienced automated ships, tending to place too much reliance on gauges and computer readouts and too little on their 5 senses. The evening round tended to be devoted to trying to beat the box rather than run the Engine Room correctly and efficiently. It would be interesting to compare maintenance costs, number of breakdowns and fuel efficiency between otherwise identical vessels operating UMS and watchkeeping regimes.


----------



## surfaceblow

Duncan112 said:


> Sadly, I found that the standard of watchkeeping was much lower from Engineers that had only experienced automated ships, tending to place too much reliance on gauges and computer readouts and too little on their 5 senses. The evening round tended to be devoted to trying to beat the box rather than run the Engine Room correctly and efficiently. It would be interesting to compare maintenance costs, number of breakdowns and fuel efficiency between otherwise identical vessels operating UMS and watchkeeping regimes.


Since I started out on non automated ships both steam and motor. The watch standing skills stay with you. I use to make three rounds of the ship at varying times a day when I was sailing Chief. Most of the rounds included getting information for the office types. But I would make adjustments to the automated maintenance system schedule if I did not like the sound of various equipment or if I felt that the seals or packing need attention and the odd pumping time was longer than usual. The sister ship to the one was on had a maintenance and repair cost that was 2 million dollars higher. The Chief on that ship was 15 years my junior and served mostly on automated vessels. Both ships were UMS. 

Joe


----------



## Brian Smither

Varley said:


> I thought those were to mark the siting of a PABX or SP telephone at distance. I had no idea they were suppose to have any auditory effect. All ours must have been broken!


Telephone hoods? Telephones? On the Bar boats we still had voicepipes. 
Boiler room to Engine room &Engine room to bridge.
Could never hear a thing, easier to nip over and grab some fresh air on the way.
Recollections of Jack Hawkins on the bridge of Compass Rose calling for "full ahead" Chief.......
That's another story.


----------



## ART6

I haven't read all of the posts in this thread since I am too b****y idle, but when I was an engineer at sea in steam turbine ships no-one told us about loud noises (or, for that matter about asbestos and all the other things that nowadays have been identified as fatal). A year ago a lifelong friend died of the dreaded asbestosis, and I have noise induced hearing loss. The latter is not necessarily a bad thing since it allows me to ignore adverse comments from family (children of course) and to turn a blind ear to them while smiling patiently. It allows me to say, as I have wanted to do for years, "What? What? Speak up or sit on the other side of me!"

There is, however, a more serious aspect. My son, who is now a quite successful business man, has also something of a reputation as a guitar player. For some years he played in bands that were supported by the record companies, and once my wife and I attended one of his concerts. We sat in the front row, the massive amplifiers fired up, and every beat of the drum reverberated on my chest -- and I couldn't hear half of it or easily bear it. We left early, unable to hear a sound from the city traffic.

There have been other examples: a niece's wedding where in the hotel another band used amplifiers that could easily launch a Saturn rocket to the moon, and the celebrants lurched around on a supposed dance floor like marionettes to a thunder of noise that was dominated by drum beats that came close to pulverising the intestines.

So I wonder: We who served out time on slipways near to riveting crews and on ships where the steam lines or the scavenge pipes (whatever they are! -- a sop to the motor men here) chewed at our ears, perhaps we are are the fortunate ones. I wonder what my son will be able to hear when he is in his seventies?


----------



## retfordmackem

tiachapman said:


> anyone put a deafness claim in?


Unfortunately claims have to be in within 10yrs (I think/) of leaving the particular industry it was contracted.


----------



## retfordmackem

ART6 said:


> I haven't read all of the posts in this thread since I am too b****y idle, but when I was an engineer at sea in steam turbine ships no-one told us about loud noises (or, for that matter about asbestos and all the other things that nowadays have been identified as fatal). A year ago a lifelong friend died of the dreaded asbestosis, and I have noise induced hearing loss. The latter is not necessarily a bad thing since it allows me to ignore adverse comments from family (children of course) and to turn a blind ear to them while smiling patiently. It allows me to say, as I have wanted to do for years, "What? What? Speak up or sit on the other side of me!"
> 
> There is, however, a more serious aspect. My son, who is now a quite successful business man, has also something of a reputation as a guitar player. For some years he played in bands that were supported by the record companies, and once my wife and I attended one of his concerts. We sat in the front row, the massive amplifiers fired up, and every beat of the drum reverberated on my chest -- and I couldn't hear half of it or easily bear it. We left early, unable to hear a sound from the city traffic.
> 
> There have been other examples: a niece's wedding where in the hotel another band used amplifiers that could easily launch a Saturn rocket to the moon, and the celebrants lurched around on a supposed dance floor like marionettes to a thunder of noise that was dominated by drum beats that came close to pulverising the intestines.
> 
> So I wonder: We who served out time on slipways near to riveting crews and on ships where the steam lines or the scavenge pipes (whatever they are! -- a sop to the motor men here) chewed at our ears, perhaps we are are the fortunate ones. I wonder what my son will be able to hear when he is in his seventies?


Dear Art6 can you or anyone else remember the advert in the early days of advertising ,probably early 60s.,where a chap in an audience listened to music on stage and the sound was muffled and he could not hear a thing,just buzzing noises . Well thats where I am at now unfortunately.
As for turning a blind ?(deaf) ear ,my n brother was profoundly deaf and in the the 50s everyone us took the mickey out of him for getting his words mixed up. Years later when I was sat next to him inShotton BUFFS CLUB,his mate said "Dixon its your turn",when he never replied his mate got them in .I nudged him to tell him it was his turn when he said "Shut up I heard him ,serves them right for taking the piss all these years". Its then I realised he was deaf not DAFT. (*))(*))(*))


----------



## sandhopper

inShotton BUFFS CLUB,his mate said "Dixon its your turn",when he never replied his mate got them in .I nudged him to tell him it was his turn when he said "Shut up I heard him ,serves them right for taking the piss all these years". Its then I realised he was deaf not DAFT. (*))(*))(*))[/QUOTE]

Shotton brings back memories of RAF Sealand. Cannot remember, is the Legion in Shotton or Queensferry? As for selective deafness my father was a master at it (he blamed the guns at Crete). He used to switch off his hearing aid when the Social Services' lady would ask him if he was coping with his care package. Poor woman spent ages explaining various things to my rather disinterested 95 year old father.


----------



## retfordmackem

sandhopper said:


> inShotton BUFFS CLUB,his mate said "Dixon its your turn",when he never replied his mate got them in .I nudged him to tell him it was his turn when he said "Shut up I heard him ,serves them right for taking the piss all these years". Its then I realised he was deaf not DAFT. (*))(*))(*))


Shotton brings back memories of RAF Sealand. Cannot remember, is the Legion in Shotton or Queensferry? As for selective deafness my father was a master at it (he blamed the guns at Crete). He used to switch off his hearing aid when the Social Services' lady would ask him if he was coping with his care package. Poor woman spent ages explaining various things to my rather disinterested 95 year old father.[/QUOTE]
Sandhopper-The Shotton in question is in county Durham near Peterlee.


----------



## sandhopper

retfordmackem said:


> Sandhopper-The Shotton in question is in county Durham near Peterlee.


/

Oops! Sorry mate. thought it was the one in North Wales.


----------



## ART6

This is getting a bit off-topic in going down the road of hearing aids, but one experience that amused me at the time was when I was a newly-appointed deputy chief engineer at a new power station being built at the time. There were regular (and endless) project meetings in a large contractors site office, and the Babcock chief engineer attended with some reluctance to deal with issues relating to his boilers. George was knocking on a bit, and he wore one of those deaf aids that had a box hanging on his chest with a length of what looked like steel wire armoured up to his right ear. 

When he became bored with the discussions, George would turn off his hearing aid and doze off without bothering anyone. That was fine until someone asked him a question, and the absence of any response resulted in his deputy leaning over, switching on the aid, raising it to his mouth and shouting "George!" into it. George would wake up with a start and then switch into autopilot, going into a detailed technical explanation that generally had little to do with the question. He was, however, such a respected expert that the table would nod to each other appreciatively, minute that the question had been properly answered, and move on to something less contentious that would allow George to turn off his deaf aid again!


----------



## Varley

If we are off at a tangent then another of Father's favourites was the simple hearing aid (for those that remember the 1950s two part gadgets).

Just tuck a piece of string into your breast pocket and then lead it up to your ear.

As everybody shouts at you as soon as they realise you are wearing a hearing it aid it works just as well as the real thing.

David V


----------

