[69_hafton]

Southpa, sorry, but everyone up there says "eh" all the time... don't they?
But I do agree, wear all the safety equipment you can, you'll be better off in the long run. They're not convenient, but dust masks, face shields may keep you from getting lung cancer or losing an eye.

The way I see it, save your hearing for something you want to hear, maybe you"ll want to listen to music still after you're 35. And nobody wants to talk to someone who's hard to talk to. My grandpa had hearing aids since I can remember, and it was always hard for people to communicate with him. He worked in a machine shop for most of his life and was in the army in WWII, neither of which help his hearing.