The same applies to ear muffs, make sure the muffs are clean before you wear them. As we indicated earlier, part of the hearing conservation program is training.

Too much or too frequent exposure to high noise can lead to permanent damage and to hearing loss. The extent of hearing loss depends upon the intensity or loudness of the exposure and for how long. Sometimes, a sudden single exposure to very high noise levels, such as a gunshot, is sufficient to cause permanent damage and permanent hearing loss.

To make a long story short, you're the person who makes the decision to protect your hearing.

Let's look a bit closer at the protection part.

You've all seen or heard of people wearing cotton in their ears for hearing protection. For years, people in the military were issued cotton when they practiced firing pistols, rifles and other loud noise areas.

Cotton does not protect your hearing... not at all. We've discovered that cotton does not prevent hearing loss from loud noises.

Let's look at some of the things that will protect your hearing. Soft plugs are placed into the ear canal, blocking out unwanted noise. Custom ear plugs are molded to the exact fit of your ear. Ear muffs are placed over the ear to block out unwanted noise,
however, you have to be careful with ear muffs. If you wear glasses or chew gum, the ear muffs can leak noise and can give you a false sense of security. To wear soft plugs, make sure your fingers and hands are clean, then roll the plug in your fingers, gently pull up on your outer ear and slide the plug into the ear canal. The plug will then expand and block out unwanted noise or sound.

Here's an important safety tip. Everyone has seen cotton swabs used to clean ears, however, you should never insert the cotton swab directly into the ear canal. The cotton swab manufacturer even gives you this warning, not to insert the swab into the ear canal. All you're doing is pushing wax deeper into the ear canal and eventually may cause a hearing deficiency or infection.

If your ear plugs become dirty or damaged, get new ones. If you're wearing reusable ear plugs, keep them clean and sanitized. Keep them in a clean case or bag when they're not being used.

Inspect your hearing protection before you use it. Ear muffs should be check for cracks, cuts or stiffness.

Do not modify your hearing protection in any way, such as drilling small holes in ear muffs.
How about radio headphones as hearing protection?

Don't even think about it..... Radio headphones should never be worn at work anyway, as they are a distraction, but more importantly, they do not serve any purpose for hearing protection.