Is It Illegal to Drive with Your Earmuffs on in Canada?

Hey Bill, I think it very much depends on the jurisdiction. Here is a writeup on BC's stance, bottom of page 9:

http://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca/downloads/Traffic/Traffic Court Guide.pdf

 

@Eric N why won't you wear earplugs when you drive?

I live on a hill and I found that when I drive up the hill while wearing earplugs, I seem to experience ear fullness. But you don't have this problem, so I think you can wear earplugs.

 

you'd think, but sometimes laws are silly. One state I lived in was similar: driving with earmuffs or headphones of any kind illegal; driving deaf legal.

In Texas it is illegal to use a red-dot laser site when you are hunting.... unless you are a blind person, in which case it is permissible (because blind people "hunt" with someone standing behind them to say "yup, the dot is on the deer, pull the trigger now").

I drive with 12db dubs on 55mph blacktop and 22db silicone plugs for highways (only if I am going to be driving for longer than 90 mins without breaks); for me this is fine, cuts out the road and engine sounds and lets me listen to NPR or whatever without blasting it.

 

It's cumbersome to use ear plugs plus it might push wax and cause ear infections if you're not careful. Anyways I'll continue to use the earmuffs I got caught in a a city which I don't usually drive in but I've been okay for the six years I've had tinnitus.

I've never been caught except for this time.

 

Hi Eric,

You had a spike from wearing earplugs and earmuffs while driving, did that spike settle a bit?

I couldn't believe I had it the same. Musician earplugs in and on the top earmuffs Peltor Optime lll 35 dB reduction. I can't believe this is possible. It looks like I have further damaged my ears. My car is 75 dB at its loudest. Even if I have just 20 dB reduction, that is 55 dB of noise left, still not enough to cause damage. Today was one of my good days but it's gone. I don't think I will ever have good days. This condition really sucks. I can't do anything. I need to just stay at home.

 

I would fight the ticket, although I know you caved in and paid it. In Ontario Canada we have POINTS, a business that represents you in traffic court for a fee. They have saved me a couple of times. Last time was a speeding ticket, completely thrown out. It cost me $340 for POINTS for a $140 ticket, but insurance goes up for years when you get tickets, and who knows if I will get another ticket in the future?

 

Bill, can I ask if you would recommend muffs or plugs while driving (or both)? I am trying to figure out how to minimize the occlusion effect - right now I wear Peltor but it doesn't seem to be enough. My tinnitus always spikes after driving on bumpy roads due to those loud, low-frequency bumps that happen when you are going over potholes etc...

I know it sounds crazy but my worst days in these first three months always happen after driving for 10-15 minutes.

Your perspective would be greatly appreciated!

 

I also get spikes from driving literally 5-10 miles, and I mean bad spikes. Not sure if it is the low-frequency nature of the bumps, or the fact that it's very sudden noise, but I'm starting to become scared to get into a car. Usually, the spikes go down for me, but I always wonder, what if they don't?

 

During the first month after the onset of my tinnitus, I assumed that I can continue doing all of the things that were ok to do before I hurt my ears. That included going for car rides and being in the car when a car door was slammed shut. Eventually I realized that these things felt uncomfortable. I would make sure to wear hearing protection in the car. For the first year and a half all of my drives were under 15 minutes long. Then after a year and a half I went on a road trip that involved me driving for 5-8 hours a day for about two weeks. I learned that my noise cancelling headphones were great at dealing with the noise on a highway. But some people say that they got tinnitus after using noise cancelling headphones, so I made sure to wear earplugs underneath the headphones to protect me from the headphones.

All of this was a long time ago, and I can't remember whether I was concerned about the occlusion effect. It certainly wasn't a problem when I wore noise cancelling headphones. I know that at first I would wear the goofy Peltor X5A muffs whenever I drove. I am pretty sure that I had been wearing earplugs underneath them, but I can't be 100% sure. I think my reasoning for wearing the Peltor muffs was to maximize protection (and add an additional 5 dB of protection). I know that I didn't feel great about wearing them and have the other drivers and pedestrians think that I was a freak. Eventually I began wearing earplugs when I drove and these days I don't wear anything.

If you are getting spikes after driving while wearing earplugs, perhaps your injury is still too raw to handle driving. In that case you might attempt to minimize the time you spend in a car. If you are getting spikes after driving without any hearing protection, then see what happens when you wear protection. It seems to me that the occlusion effect is only relevant when one is at the dentist's. Otherwise, earplugs (good ones like 3M foam 1100 plugs) Are effective, in spite of the occlusion effect.

If I were you, I would "play it by ear" - experiment and then minimize the activities that cause spikes, keeping in mind that eventually you ought to heal enabling you to return to those activities.

 

I had been combining https://www.amazon.com/3M-1100-Foam-Plugs-200-Pair/dp/B008MVYL7C/ with Peltor X5A muffs.

 

Thanks very much - I really appreciate all of the info. I'll try plugs and muffs and see what happens. It's crazy to drive for only a few minutes and have a multi-hour spike but it's just the way it is right now.

 

There's a good chance that eventually you will stop being as sensitive. Unfortunately the ears take years to heal.

 

I wear noise cancelling earphones to protect me from the car, I wear earplugs to protect me from the earphones, I wear a helmet to protect me from the earplugs, I wear a soundproof box to protect me from the helmet, I wear a blanket to protect me from the soundproof box.

FML.

 

Those are great earmuffs. I normally use Peltor X4A, which are smaller... how long did your Peltor earmuffs last before they broke?

 

Funny laws. If one is deaf it is legal to drive.