Working in a Restaurant — Hearing Protection Options Enabling Me to Converse with Customers?

Hello all,
I was wondering if anyone has advice on my particular situation.

I currently work in a small diner 4x a week. I serve and sometimes have to wash dishes. It can get quite noisy while I'm working and really irritates my tinnitus. Wondering what kind of options I have for hearing protection that would still enable to me interact with customers and other staff while protecting my ears?

Thanks in advance

 

Musician's earplugs are a good option. They cut out background noise, but you can still hear the people that are talking.

 

Musicians Ear Plugs are a lifesaver! Just put in the lowest filter and make sure they're inserted properly and you're good to go!
I use the brand Earpeace.

 

Now that is great idea. I've ordered a pair already. Thank you for your help!

 

Not many recent threads for restaurants, but it's nice to see workers concerned about their hearing.

I was in a restaurant tonight that had concrete flooring and no sound damping, so there was a lot of echo. And it didn't help that they had the music cranked, in addition to several tables with large groups of kids who were screaming pretty much the entire time we were there.

I put some Etyomotic earplugs in and didn't realize they had eased out of my ears while I was eating (no wonder it got so loud again).

I don't know how workers can tolerate these conditions for 8 hours or so once, let alone all the time. No hearing protection from any of the servers that I saw despite the loud music, loud groups, and lack of sound damping.

 

Hence why there is so much noise-induced tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss.

 

I use solid silicon earplugs, cheap and with much better protection than the ones with filters, also more comfortable as they don't have a hard filter piece inside. What I do is remove the plug very slightly to create a gap and hear better then press back to close the gap. Make sure to dip the plugs in disinfectant alcohol to make those much easier to insert and prevent ear infections. Due to COVID-19 these dispensers are everywhere now.

 

I use Earasers with the strongest filter if I need to still understand thigs and the expandable foam plugs when I need to protect more. The phones in my avatar go over the foam plugs for crazy stuff like power saws and leaf blowers. Ironically the foam plugs amplify some lower frequency sounds and make them worse.

George

 

I carry several types of earplugs depending on the ambient noise. I cannot just put in the strongest earplugs and listen to my raging ringing if there is no need for that level of protection.

 

You're just like Batman @kingsfan. Except that instead of a belt full of various strength shark sprays, you're packin' earplugs instead!

 

Restaurants are getting louder by the day.

And yes, now there's "music" everywhere. So loud...

 

I'm becoming quite the earplug aficionado.

 

What earplugs do you like best, and for what purpose?

George

 

So far I mainly use two different pairs of Earasers and Hearos foam earplugs. Sometimes I use my custom Westones but I don't like that I have to use a ton of Otoease to actually get a seal with them, but then I can't remove them and reinsert without using the Otoease again. They are the most comfortable though and I feel more protected with them in than the Earasers. They block A LOT more low frequency sound.

I'm debating on whether to try ACS or Sensaphonics earplugs next. Sensaphonics are a much softer silicone which I believe will create a better seal and be more comfortable, but ACS has a filter port that allows air to escape the ear canal and possibly eliminating occlusion. All of the ACS molds I've seen look really shallow though while the Sensaphonics look like they are made to go deep into the ear.

 

Like everybody else is saying. Musicians' ear plugs. They save me.