Loud Job Offer

Hello all,

I have recently gotten job offer from my cousin who is a general contractor doing mostly renovations and the occasional house build. I would be helping him do these things and as you can imagine some of the work is quite loud. It would be just me and him mainly so there wouldn't be any unexpected loud noises from other people to worry about, and I would be able to wear my -12 decibel ear plugs whenever I needed to, and even earmuffs for particularly loud situations. It is quite the transition from a quiet janitor job to construction. There would also be a pay and hour increase from $12/hr at 36 hours a week to $16/hr at 40 hours a week.

My question is;
Is it worth it? Would being around the noise exposure all day everyday have an inevitable effect, even with protection. And of course I will be caught off gaurd sometimes, so I have to put that into consideration.

Thanks for the input in advance!

 

As long as the noise is something you can prepare for and not be caught without protection it might be fine and only you know your own finances and whether this is a necessary move or just a potential one. I think you would have to go into it knowing that one of the risks is that you may increase your T even by mistake. If it's worth that for the money, ya gotta do what ya gotta do I guess. I think it's important to try and not let T stop us from doing things we want to do but as with everything you need to weigh the pros and cons. Good luck.

 

I would recommend using a real decibel meter to get an accurate read on the volume levels you'd be routinely exposed to, and then go from there.

Hearing protection is great, but it doesn't stop very low frequency bass.

 

I would want $1,000/hr, for me to risk any more damage to my hearing and/or, increasing my already high volume of T. Stick with the quiet job, that is, if you can stand the silence, all day?

 

Hammers, drills, nail guns, table saws, those kinds of things.

 

Speaking personally, hammers and drills don't bother me much, but table saws are more worrying, and I'd never deal with using a jackhammer or gasoline-powered equipment all the time.

 

I would keep ear plugs with me as long as I'm around these noises if I was U id definitely go for the job that pays more ( more money = more things to do)

 

You can protect your hearing so I think you could be fine. Check out for example these active hearing protectors.

https://www.westone.com/defendear/
http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/eb15le.html

 

I wouldnt risk it unless i desperately needed money.