The Armour Archive

My wife suggested posting this, my sister in law is an audieologist (sp?) she was over a while ago, and asked what kind of ear protection I wore while welding
I told her welding was a quiet job, and didn't pose a thret to my hearing, Sue (sister in law) replied that she wasn't asking about sound volume, but about the ear proper - turns out she had someone in who had been arc welding in goggles, rather than with a face shield, he had a large spark come at him, catch the side of his ear, and bounce into the ear canal. Massive amount of damage from a trifling spark.
The man told her that at the time of occurence he was certain it hurt worse that the injury which crushed two and a half fingers
Whenever I work in goggles (bad angle, or a brutaly hot day) I now wear earplugs - ya never know

NEVER WELD ARC OR MIG IN JUST GOGGLES! NEVER.

Apart form your ears, if you ever want to TASTE food again then you do not want a spark going up wour nostril. Add to this the fact that the UV exposure will increase your chances of skin cancer EVEN IF YOU ARE BLACK (Melonin will only cope with so much).

Always use the right tool for the job in welding safety.

20 mintues of increased comfort now is not worth 20 years of disabilty later.

It really is that simple.

Sasha

I am in total agrement with Sasha.

Besides, how many of you who are smart enough to wear seatbelts all the time even notice when it is on? Or how many of you feel naked when it is off?

I never do anything without wearing the Maximum amount of safety gear that I think is reasonable. If you think that is wimpy, we shall talk about that in 30 years.

Mike

I know the feeling!
I was lying under a car doing reconstructive surgery to the exhaust pipes with my MIG/MAG when a big drop of melted wire fell into my ear. The pain wasn't the worst, it was the sound of burning ear!!!
Anyway it didn't damage anything permanently but it sure made me think twice about protection.
And if you want a tan, try some TIG welding in a t-shirt. NOT RECOMMENDED.