Firm touts protection gear for lawn work

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. »

Weed whackers, leaf blowers and lawn mowers are a big part of my summer existence.

Sometimes I can’t help questioning the sanity and expense of all the time, labor and fuel involved with such work.

I mean what did front yards look like when people relied on sheep instead of small engines?

Be that as it may, there’s something rewarding about the end result when it’s all said and done.

The past few years, I’ve noticed more and more people who operate power equipment using ear muff style hearing protectors.

It only makes sense, considering the cumulative effect of hours spent working around loud machinery. This is true for many occupations, whether driving a farm tractor or working inside at one of the area’s big paper mills.

So I was curious when an email popped up recently in my inbox, touting three types of hearing protection devices devoloped by Etymotic, an Illinois company. The firm, because of its Midwest roots, primarily markets them to farmers, who work with noisy equipment and animals all the time.

“Exposure to noise from loud farm machinery and animals, and the resulting hearing loss and tinnitus -- ringing in the ears -- is just one of the many occupational hazards modern farmers have to contend with,” said Susan Kornfeld, company spokesperson. “Used for years by musicians and others exposed to high sound levels, these products are now being highlighted as essential equipment for farmers.”

But in addition to agricultural occupations, there are many other jobs they might be useful for, including my own.

Why?

Well, earplugs would be downright handy when the phone rings and someone calls up to complain or wants to know why their paper wasn’t delivered -a problem now handled by someone in the Dominican Republic.

Anyway, I asked someone who works with power tools to give these newstyle earplugs a look- see. My neighbor, Mike Bennett, is a maple producer who also does a great deal of chainsaw work in the woods.

“When you wear earmuff protectors in the hot weather, sweat gets inside,” he said. “It makes you feel like you’re swimming underwater. So I decided to give these a try. They’re small, light and very comfortable.”

Actually, the company has three types of devices. They are:

• High- definition safety earplugs. These reduce sound levels while preserving clarity, instead of muffling the sound.

• High- definition safety earplugs and earphones. Listening to music in tractor cabs can put hearing at risk if the volume has to be raised to hear the music over the machine noise. These devices block external sound -- like earplugs -- to reduce external noise and are engineered for safe listening and exceptional sound quality.

* High- definition 15 electronic earplugs. These al---

low safe sounds to pass through, as though nothing is in the ears, yet instantaneously react to reduce loud sounds and protect hearing.

All kidding aside, it sounds like all three are quite important in this day and age when a little peace and quiet is hard to find.

“Hearing is so important and under assault from regular noise around the farm all the time,” said Sandy Buxton, Washington County Cornell Cooperative Extension agent. “We encourage farmers and their employees to use ear protection as part of their regular personal protective equipment. It’s one of those challenges that many people don’t think about until it’s too late. Mechanical noise hearing loss can rarely be improved much by hearing aids.”