Hearing protection
First of a couple of articles from me where I take my experience with heavy industry and apply it to groomers.
Your typical grooming salon is not a quiet place. You have blasters, huskies, dryers, clippers, dogs barking and the radio stuck on northsound1 which is never good.
Most groomers will have a pair of cheapo ear defenders hanging from a hook unused and unloved doing sod all to protect your hearing.
You aren’t wearing them as you don’t care about your hearing, you aren’t wearing them as they are awful. I’ve seen these before as they are bought in bulk for a few dollars each but you paid a lot more. The cups are a bit small, the foam is thin, the hearing protection is minimal and the headband is uncomfortable.
For about £25 you can buy something a lot better from Peltor who are about the top dogs of ear defenders.
These are a bit heavier than the cheapos but the ear foam is far thicker so they are more comfortable on your head. The cups are larger so no squashed ears and the headband is more adjustable
You are more likely to use these. And as to hearing protection. It’s what I would use when next to a screaming V12 high speed diesel.
You can get versions with a radio or bluetooth but the cost is HOW MUCH!!!!!
Another popular option is ear plugs
There is the good old single use foam sweeties which you shove in you ear and then bin. Probably not the best thing to have around dogs but on the up side you can shove them up your nose in the event of a particularly potent……
They are a pain to use properly and you’ll put them down and lose them and you won’t bother getting another pair.
So the packet of them will end up in the back of a cupboard and forgotten about.
Total waste of cash.
For slightly more cash but not much there is the 3M tracer. These are designed for the food industry so are bright blue and have a lanyard on them. They also have a ball bearing in them so they can be picked up on a metal detector, which is of no use to you 99.99% of the time, but if a dog eats one then it will show up wonderfully on an x-ray.
I quite like them as the lanyard means you can hang them around your neck or on a hook. They are easier to fit and they appear to be quite durable. They aren’t the very best in ear protection but poor ear protection you wear is far more effective than brilliant stuff you don’t wear.
If you are on a budget and don’t get on with over ear protection then i’d happy point you at these.
If you aren’t on a budget then the absolute best is custom fit ear plugs. They are north of £100 for a set but they will last you for years. I’ve got ten years out of one set, probably shouldn’t of but they lasted.
How it works is an impression is taken of your ear but injecting some silicone into your ear. This sets and is taken out. It’s a vaguely bizarre process but its worth it. This then produces a set of masters from which some moulds are made. From these moulds the actual ear plugs are made from a silicone rubber. These ear plugs will also have a channel through them into which a filter is fitted. This filter can be tuned from can’t hear anything to only taking out certain frequencies. Some companies also supply into the music industry so you can get a set of headphones built in.
I find them stupidly comfortable and due to that I use them a lot.
The first set I got where from this lot EMTEC
But they are not the only option. Just search on google for custom moulded earplugs UK
If this has been of use then leave a comment below or request something else.