Not Wearing PPE on Drilling Jobs? It’ll Sting You Eventually

When I started in this industry, I had a habit of not wearing the provided protective gear or using it properly. I was in management but spent a lot of time on the shop floor. Given that, I feel silly lecturing about safety. If only those who never did anything unsafe taught safety, we would have a severe shortage of safety consultants. Sometimes we learn things the hard way.

I recently went to see the ear doc about an issue I that I am having. I have noticed recently that I have trouble knowing where sound was originating. This makes finding the phone when it rings quite interesting. After a complete hearing test, I had my answer. Although I did not need a hearing aid, I had damage that reduced my hearing in certain frequency ranges. Plus I have some tinnitus: ringing in the ears. She asked about my history and identified the likely cause was my 20-plus years in a machine shop environment.