Hi to you all ,how many drivers now in their later years 60/70 old, suffer from either" tinintus or deafness .It is hard to imagine nowdays the younger drivers getting into the good old cabs we all used to,no choice ,they were the then modern ones,nice holes in the floor,BMC themes trader, i remember the first driver to put a "mat /carpet"on the floor,[ did we take the ■■■■,]my main point is the Big Js, how on earth did we survive the exhaust blowing out right under the driver side bumber ,then with your window down ,it was the noise we liked though ,now its curtains and tv.microwaves.ps i have Tinintus,nice,like a hive of bees in your ear.sorry what did you say…this site is better than the Headlight mag used to be…
My hearing is nowhere near as good as it should be, in fact I’ve been prescribed a pair of hearing aids but the way even the new digital ones change the sound in your ears makes it really unbearable. I’ll stick with my own dodgy ears for as long as I can.
When you’ve spent 50 years with a noisy engine on one side and an open window on the other, you’re just asking for poor hearing. A bit like the “■■■■ & cancer” link- nobody told us at the time. But even if they had, would we have listened? And I wouldn’t have swopped the sound of the ■■■■■■■ in that Big J for a pair of ears like Dumbo!
I had a year shunting using a tug,i suffered with really itchy lugs ,it was as if my brain was itching ,really deep inside ,stopped shunting and the itch went,sorted 
Eh 
yep if there’s any background droning I cant hear zip … had me hearing tested as it was doing my head in and apparently its fine
im only 54 but my hearing in my right ear is shot just on the hearing aid edge o things(we are tested every year due to construction /workers comp in Canada).
seems the old 60 & 70s fords,leylands ,atkis 6x6 and all the rattly no exhaust plant ive driven and the fact i drove wae the window down a little all the time …lol…if the leather strap was there tae hold it up.
Confused the hell out o the testers over here,they could not figure out how it wae my right ear that was damaged and not my left ear like everyone else.
i now drive all the time wae big earmuffs on makes a hell of a difference after a day on the mixers or a 15hr day on the quarry run as my ears are not buzzing
jimmy…
Retired Old ■■■■:
My hearing is nowhere near as good as it should be, in fact I’ve been prescribed a pair of hearing aids but the way even the new digital ones change the sound in your ears makes it really unbearable. I’ll stick with my own dodgy ears for as long as I can.
When you’ve spent 50 years with a noisy engine on one side and an open window on the other, you’re just asking for poor hearing. A bit like the “■■■■ & cancer” link- nobody told us at the time. But even if they had, would we have listened? And I wouldn’t have swopped the sound of the ■■■■■■■ in that Big J for a pair of ears like Dumbo!
When I had my medical as part of my pre-requisites to gain employment with Sun Valley, the company doctor stuck me in a little booth with a set of ear phones and a clicker and every time you heard a"beep" you had to click the button. On emerging from the booth the doctor informed me that the hearing was impaired in my left ear and asked if I had ever been subjected to loud noises i.e blasting or concerts etc. I told him that I had been involved a little in blasting during my time in St Austell in the 60’s but for the main culprit try Gardner 6LX/6LXB, ■■■■■■■ NH220/250 and the noisiest of all had to be Rolls Royce Eagle 220 .! had a Mk11 in a Scammell Trunker 11 and a Mk 111 in a Seddon 32-4 .Despite using ear plugs in the Scammell it still would loosen the wax in my ears. I’ve no doubt that a lot of drivers would qualify for compensation if thir former employers were still operating but as an O/D I was responsible for my own well being. However it is probably compensation enough that I don’t always hear what “she who must be obeyed” is saying!!
Laurie, I went for a hearing test and was told that even if the company was no longer trading their Solicitors (if traceable) were still liable to pay out compensation on their behalf. However my hearing was fine, despite what the missus says!
Pete.
There is a time limit for a claim . 3 years from date of injury or 3 years from time of knowledge of injury, so if you’ve been to doctors about you ears over 3 years ago and you’ve done knowt about it you can’t claim . You may have ear damage from 20 years ago and not realised untill an ear test and then left it over 3 years to claim after the diagnosis it will not be allowed .
jeffrey ellener:
There is a time limit for a claim . 3 years from date of injury or 3 years from time of knowledge of injury, so if you’ve been to doctors about you ears over 3 years ago and you’ve done knowt about it you can’t claim . You may have ear damage from 20 years ago and not realised untill an ear test and then left it over 3 years to claim after the diagnosis it will not be allowed .
Possibly so, however when I took my test at a Hotel in Derby there were several guys a lot older than me (probably in their late seventies) and were partially deaf from working in places like Rolls Royce and International Combustion and they were told that claiming wouldn’t be a problem. However as I was OK I don’t know the outcome, maybe they received nowt and it was just a big con, I have been contacted several times by the same people but declined their offer, I only went before because I had some parts to pick up from Derby! 
Pete.
I am as deaf as a post and have even for years . I only have 25percent hearing , all in the lower register . None at all in the high pitched end . Gardners , rollers , ■■■■■■■ are all death to the lugs , but worst of all was 2years hammering over the cat and fiddle with a scammel with a leyland 680 with a front mounted exhaust . Got fitted out with digital hearing aids , but they make the tinnitus worse . Got to agree with laurie driver it does give me some peace from her indoors .cheers , Dave
rigsby:
I am as deaf as a post and have even for years . I only have 25percent hearing , all in the lower register . None at all in the high pitched end . Gardners , rollers , ■■■■■■■ are all death to the lugs , but worst of all was 2years hammering over the cat and fiddle with a scammel with a leyland 680 with a front mounted exhaust . Got fitted out with digital hearing aids , but they make the tinnitus worse . Got to agree with laurie driver it does give me some peace from her indoors .cheers , Dave
Well Rigsby, You know the old saying us old drivers only hear want we want to hear, Well that’s my excuse Eh, Regards Larry.
Retired Old ■■■■:
My hearing is nowhere near as good as it should be, in fact I’ve been prescribed a pair of hearing aids but the way even the new digital ones change the sound in your ears makes it really unbearable. I’ll stick with my own dodgy ears for as long as I can.
When you’ve spent 50 years with a noisy engine on one side and an open window on the other, you’re just asking for poor hearing. A bit like the “■■■■ & cancer” link- nobody told us at the time. But even if they had, would we have listened? And I wouldn’t have swopped the sound of the ■■■■■■■ in that Big J for a pair of ears like Dumbo!
Having driven a fair few miles in a Big J with the 240 “Percy” in it,it sounded sweet as a nut,but in comparison the ■■■■■■■ powered J’s were noisy,but nice noisy!!!
David
5thwheel:
Retired Old ■■■■:
My hearing is nowhere near as good as it should be, in fact I’ve been prescribed a pair of hearing aids but the way even the new digital ones change the sound in your ears makes it really unbearable. I’ll stick with my own dodgy ears for as long as I can.
When you’ve spent 50 years with a noisy engine on one side and an open window on the other, you’re just asking for poor hearing. A bit like the “■■■■ & cancer” link- nobody told us at the time. But even if they had, would we have listened? And I wouldn’t have swopped the sound of the ■■■■■■■ in that Big J for a pair of ears like Dumbo!Having driven a fair few miles in a Big J with the 240 “Percy” in it,it sounded sweet as a nut,but in comparison the ■■■■■■■ powered J’s were noisy,but nice noisy!!! Have you got a photo of your Big J With the 8 potter Percy in, Im sure it would be very welcome on this thread, Regards Larry.
David
Some of the younger drivers will go deaf, from the radio’s and stereo systems blasting out in the modern vehicles.
Cheers Dave.
Dave the Renegade:
Some of the younger drivers will go deaf, from the radio’s and stereo systems blasting out in the modern vehicles.
Cheers Dave.
I agree with what you say Dave, You can hear the noise when you are along side of them in traffic, Plus these young so called idiots in cars are the same, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Dave the Renegade:
Some of the younger drivers will go deaf, from the radio’s and stereo systems blasting out in the modern vehicles.
Cheers Dave.I agree with what you say Dave, You can hear the noise when you are along side of them in traffic, Plus these young so called idiots in cars are the same, Regards Larry.
I think some of the young car drivers have more power in their stereo systems, than the car engine Larry.
Cheers Dave.
Like many I’ve been fitted with twin hearing aids. I was ‘lucky’ as the exhaust of my 220 Roller powered Seddon went out under the chassis but there were also plenty of Gardners and ■■■■■■■■
You don’t realise how deaf you are even though the TV is turned up to 16, you’re using subtitles and you can’t hold a conversation in a quiet pub.
When I had mine fitted I was amazed at what I could hear out in the corridor, all that background noise was deafening, and at home I could even hear the clock ticking and the TV got turned down to 9.
The downside is you still can’t hear what people are saying due to background noise, the old silence was peacefully refreshing.
Have to say I found myself nodding in agreement to most of the comments, started long distance in 1967 with the normal assortment of Atkis, ERFs and plastic Seddons moving onto an equilly noisey new Scammel Routeman in 1977. I thought my hearing had failed in 1979 when I got a DAF 2800 but no I didn’t hear anything because there was nothing to hear! (reletivly speaking) and things improved from then on by way of Volvo, Scania and MAN. But the end result of those first dozen years are chronic tinnitus and a couple of digital hearing aids, that I can only wear one at a time even after ten years, that seem to amplify any noise but do very little to help conversation or TV. When I mentioned it to my doctor many years ago he told me it was just an age thing, the posts on here tell a different story!
I never had a problem with front mounted exhausts, it was the ones mounted vertically behind the cab about three feet from my right earhole that got to me, especially with the rain cap rattling away! 
Pete.
Hiya…now which one was it…maybe that ERF 205 ■■■■■■■ that was a noisy B…tard, anyhow i got
some new fangle ear things that do a good job(at 2k they should) BBBBUUUTT unlike glasses where you
see what your looking at (dose that make sense)with these earing aids i can hear whoever s talking to
me…i can hear the tele that i,am not watching but i can still hear it, the flamin dish washer that,s of
no interest is whooshing away behind me, the washing machine in the utility room i can also hear so
i must say after spending so much money i’am not really that satisfied, it is better with them but not as
good deal as glasses do for your eye,s.if you have a hearing test listen(how can you when you have no aids)
about what they say. sometimes i wonder that all the bleeps and charts are not what they tell us.
i could have taken my aids back…no because its better with them its just as you can hear things that are not
important, maybe with good hearing thats what its like all the time its just 40+ years of diesel engines and
6 years of panel beating have made me not hear the dish washer hoover and washing machine.
John