# What is best hearing protection with a radio



## ron9876 (Jun 1, 2009)

I would like to have good quality hearing protection with a built in radio. I got a Pelitor set for Christmas. Seemed like great protection but the radio won't pick up anything except the closet stations. Does anyone have a recommendation for a better set?


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## cellophane (Oct 6, 2009)

Some of the smaller ear-buds will fit under your ear muffs. Could always try that and just use an Walkman or something. I've also seen some earbud ear plugs, but I don't know how they work.


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## RLHERRON (May 15, 2008)

I believe Ryobi has one that you can plug your i-pod into. Saw it at Home Depot for about $80.00 It may have a radio also. Like you said the radios have too much interference.

RLH


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## David D (Dec 30, 2009)

RLHERRON said:


> I believe Ryobi has one that you can plug your i-pod into. Saw it at Home Depot for about $80.00 It may have a radio also. Like you said the radios have too much interference.
> 
> RLH


Ryobi makes a great set of active headphones that will suppress anything above normal conversation sound levels. They do not have a built in radio, but do have a jack that you can connect a radio, iPod or MP3 player to. I just picked up a great deal today at Home Depot where they're selling the Ryobi Tek4 Combo kit for $49 (normally $99) which includes the headphones. It's a great deal as the headphones are normally $69 by themselves! The sale is one of their yellow tag deals and isn't advertised, so if you're interested, you might want to hurry to the local store and pick one up.


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## Jacktoo (Oct 8, 2009)

Why bother having hearing protection, if your just going to blast your eardrums out with music anyway!

Just kidding, I hope you find something that works!


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## ironhat (Jul 25, 2009)

Actually, a good point but I don't believe there's anything to worry about. Since the earmuffs block the exterior noise, as long as you don't crank up the radio to obscene levels the level of it should be safe.


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## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

I have in ear headphones like these which do a great job of cutting down on noises and make the bass in music really come alive. You could easily wear sound ear muffs over them if you need more sound cutout. As others have said, be careful not to turn it up too loud. Amazon.com: Sony Mdr-Ex75/Slv Ex Earbuds Headphones with 9mm Hi-Sensitivity Driver (Silver): Electronics


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## BenBen (Feb 14, 2009)

David D said:


> Ryobi makes a great set of active headphones that will suppress anything above normal conversation sound levels. They do not have a built in radio, but do have a jack that you can connect a radio, iPod or MP3 player to. I just picked up a great deal today at Home Depot where they're selling the Ryobi Tek4 Combo kit for $49 (normally $99) which includes the headphones. It's a great deal as the headphones are normally $69 by themselves! The sale is one of their yellow tag deals and isn't advertised, so if you're interested, you might want to hurry to the local store and pick one up.


I second that! I picked up the same package yesterday...awesome deal. Can't wait to make some noise to see how they do.


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## RLHERRON (May 15, 2008)

David D said:


> I just picked up a great deal today at Home Depot where they're selling the Ryobi Tek4 Combo kit for $49 (normally $99) which includes the headphones. It's a great deal as the headphones are normally $69 by themselves! The sale is one of their yellow tag deals and isn't advertised, so if you're interested, you might want to hurry to the local store and pick one up.


David - thanks for sharing that info. Wanted the headphones for cutting grass, grass is dead now so there was no rush at Christmas to get them for $60-$70.00.

I'm in a rush now, called our HD and for $49.99 I'll get it today, the extra tools are a bonus.

Again, thanks for taking the time to post the info.

RLH :thumbsup:


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## scottsh (Jan 13, 2010)

I got the Ryobi headset as a Christmas present and so far I am very happy with it. The ability to pass through the regular sounds means I eventually forget I'm wearing them and can have hear a screw drop or know that a tool (like the bandsaw) is on. When you start to cut and the noise level goes up, the headset clamps down and reduces it very well. I find myself wearing them all the time to keep down on the impact of my router, miter saw, etc.


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## David D (Dec 30, 2009)

The headphones work great. My uncle has a pair that he uses at the shooting range and love's 'em!


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

ron9876 said:


> I would like to have good quality hearing protection with a built in radio. I got a Pelitor set for Christmas. Seemed like great protection but the radio won't pick up anything except the closet stations. Does anyone have a recommendation for a better set?


From someone who wears hearing aids, IMHO none of the available products would be safe for even short term use.

First, regardless of the quality of the ear muffs and their ability to block sound, there is ALWAYS ambient noise inside the ear muffs.

Second, the radio volume has to be louder than the ambient noise for you to hear it.

Third, when the ambient noise is reduced (i.e. no machine running) the radio volume is too high. So, when the machine is running, the radio is also too loud.

Fourth, hearing damage does not heal or recover. The damage from that loud music that you listened to in your teen years remains with you for life. Every loud noise just adds to the damage to your hearing.

You are much better off turning the radio in the shop to a pleasant volume and not hearing the radio when you put the ear muffs on. (BTW - That is what I do.) If you wear a base ball cap in the shop, it is easy to remove the muffs and allow them to clamp onto the hat with the head band resting on the brim of the cap.

Besides, from a safety point of view, you don't want to be distracted by anything when operating a machine.


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## garryswf (Aug 17, 2009)

While working at the coalmine one of my jobs was oiler on a 23 yd. loading shovel. I did have to spend alot of time in the house of the machine, which was extremely noisey. The company did provide me with top quality hearing protection. I decided that i wanted to incorporate headphones into the earmuff type hearing protection connected to a cassette player, very simple to do and worked quite well. Would i reccommend wearing anything like that while operating a TS, BS, Jointer, or any other shop equipment other than hand operated power tools, sorry but "NO". Like some of the guys have already posted, it distracts you, and with a TS blade spinning at 3750 RPM's that isn't a situation you want to be in :no:.

OMT--Having run heavy equipment sometimes it is actually better to be able to hear the surrounding noise, your ears can actually alert you to a pending problem. Just my 2 cents worth.


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