Amen on the earplugs! I lost part of my hearing in my left ear from not wearing them until quite late in life seeing as how I started in 1953 when I was 6. As was stated, it's a cumulative thing and all of a sudden you start noticing when the wife says you're talking too loud, LOL! For at least the last 10 years or more I also wear them when I'm cutting grass because that's another continuous noise that will get you sooner or later.