Loud noise takes your hearing slowly

You can work all day next to a jackhammer, a chop saw, or a generator and still hear the crew at quitting time. That does not mean your hearing is fine. Hearing loss from noise is slow. It takes the high sounds first. Later you are asking people to repeat themselves. Ringing at the end of the day is a warning. It is not a normal badge of work. Do not wear that ringing like it proves you worked hard. Tell the foreman. The hearing you lose on this job does not grow back. Say so before the next loud task.

1926.52 limits how long you may be in loud noise. The table in that rule starts at 90 dBA for an 8-hour day. Louder noise means less time. That is the point to take from the table. You do not fill in the rest of the numbers on your own. If you have to shout to be heard an arm's length away, the noise is high enough to act on. Tell the foreman. Wear the protection you were given. Do not wait for a meter before you put the plugs in. Having to shout is a warning, not a dare to keep going bare.

Think about the tools that run for hours, not only the ones that bang once. A compressor sitting by the stair all day. A grinder that never really stops. Crews cutting in the same bay. The noise adds up even when you get used to it. Getting used to it is not the same as being safe. It often means the loss has already started. Move the compressor away from where people stand, when you can. Step out of the worst noise when the foreman sets that up. If your ears ring on the way home, say something in the morning. That ringing is the job talking to you.