When I was a teen I would literally spend all my day with earphones on, with music actually very loud (but not dangerously loud) guess I was lucky.

I worked in construction for a long time, and everytime I had to work with power tools I would just use some diy earplugs made with toilet paper, while it might sound hilarious it actually saved my hearing in the long run, for the ones who might ask why I didn’t use correct earplugs. Well, in dusty environments it’s actually better to use something cheap like paper mostly because you will be “burning” a ton of earplugs during the day and let’s face it I wasn’t in great shape regarding my finances, so every penny counted. Later on I would change jobs and actually buy decent earplugs so I could work nearby gas turbines.

Anyway long story short, use proper hearing protection because depending on the exposure you might actually lose your hearing without noticing it. As for tinnitus, besides the usual damage done by not using hearing protection, it can be genetic. My dad had tinnitus due to his exposure to power tools, but I know people who have it since birth.

Some last thoughts, I think younglings should be educated regarding hearing protection. I mean youth will be youth, but I’m pretty sure they don’t want to lose their hearing in the long run.

Best regards.