Wearing Protection

Ok, I did kinda make the topic sound bad.

What I was referring to is Eyewear and Earmuffs.
I spends days on end around loud engines and music at burnout competitions, drag races, soundoffs ect... I usually only use eyewear when smoking hot rubber, birdseed or rubble goes flying around - that's what happens in burnouts lol.

I gave myself some very bad ear damage when I was going through a phase some years ago. And now I've become very protective of my hearing. However a growing problem is my eyesight in my left eye - it's getting to the point I can't read small writing.

I was really hoping that there is some common way of protecting the eye in this scenario. Maybe an attatchment to the viewfinder to put a plate over the eye, or even an eyepatch - as stupid as this sounds.

Can anybody help or suggest anything?

I can suggest using some common sense and going to see an eye care professional. Today. Book it right now. Trust me on this one. You could have a serious issue that needs immediate attention, or you might just need glasses or contacts. If you need correction ask about "extended wear contacts". I've been wearing them for years and love them. There are places to get them pretty cheap online, I use www.aclens.com and they're good.

I wear foam earplugs at wedding receptions, they have 30db attenuation. If I were at burnouts i'd wear earmuffs over the top.

Thank god I'm already deaf.

Birdseed?

tracknut wrote in post #5848072
Birdseed?

Absorbs oils and automotive fluids, it's then broomed off the skin pan or burnout pad (same thing) so it doesn't go flying anywhere. It's a safety measure, oil on a burnout pad isn't a good thing. Water is better than oil lol.

I shoot lots of cheerleading competitions with professional sound systems so I sometimes end up shooting in front of a speaker stack with 20K+ watts of power for 8-12 hrs. When I first started I would come away with headaches and ringing ears. Not a good thing. A few years ago I made a change. And iPod and these:

http://www.etymotic.co​m/ephp/er6i.aspx

Noise isolating earphones have saved my ears and my sanity. I have a 10 hr long playlist of music that helps me concentrate and passes the time with music that I want to hear. These earphones are so good that the sound guys can crank the music until the walls shake and I can barely hear it. Plus the sound quality make them one of the best earphones on the market.

If music and iPod/MP3 players aren't your thing Etymotic make plain old earplugs that use the same technology as the earphones.

If you shoot in a noisy environment by all means do what ever you can to save your ears!

In-ear phones are good at reducing noise, but I wear foam earplugs when i'm anywhere loud, they block out a LOT more noise. However good in-ear phones will be good enough for many people

If you want good headphones check out www.headphonereviews.o​rg

fubarhouse wrote in post #5840295
Wearing Protection

Yes, I recommed wearing protection!
We wouldn't want a bunch of little furbarhouse photogs running around now would we??

Oh, wait, wrong type of protection

My friend works for a hearing charity, and so she's become really vigilent with wearing hearing protection at gigs etc. I always wore something - whether it was just foam plugs, or my slightly more expensive plastic ones.

If you're looking for something even better, and can afford it, then invest in some custom plugs - they can cost up to AUD$300 but will be comfortable to wear for a long time and do more than foam ones.

As for the eyes, perhaps speak to a pro?

Custom moulded ear plugs only cost me NZ$120, and they're meant to be good ones.

I turn my hearing aids down by remote. Yup, because I was in situations like you all are stating with loud noise and having to be in those situations to do the work I ruined my hearing, my advice is USE EAR PLUGS because once it's gone it's gone!. especially Ryant35 with the 100db but gotta save your life. Well, in 5 years time you might have half the amount of hearing you have now and you'll still be able to save your live. You get used to hearing noises differently through ear plugs and the human brain adapts to those changes very quickly, to the point where you'll know when something is sneaking up on you better than without them almost.

Tim, and all others, glad to hear you wear plugs in weddings, good call. It's amazing how loud weddings are.

As for eyes, use clear glasses or mild sunnies, same as with the earplugs, you'll get used to shooting with them quickly, don't go for polarizing ones as they have an effect when looking through the viewfinder, not to mention all the colours obviously look different because they're polarized. And as Tim said, get your eyes checked out TODAY.

fubarhouse wrote in post #5850645
Absorbs oils and automotive fluids, it's then broomed off the skin pan or burnout pad (same thing) so it doesn't go flying anywhere. It's a safety measure, oil on a burnout pad isn't a good thing. Water is better than oil lol.

bet the birds love the hydrocarbon diet round there...