Many years ago, I was an audiological technician, meaning I gave hearing tests. The guy I worked for had a couple of testing booths set up in a trailer he towed to a company’s worksite so we could give the employees their hearing tests.
Before putting each person in the booth, we’d interview them, asking questions about their work and home life WRT loud noise. Whenever we found someone who used loud power tools, or firearms, or other loud noise sources and refused to wear hearing protection, we’d say:
“Keep doing that, and in a few years you’ll learn a new language.”
Almost always, the person would act a little surprised, and then we’d respond by moving our fingers and hands to simulate sign language. (My boss claimed to know sign language and told me we was signing, “Dumbass.” I have no idea if he was telling the truth or not, but it got a laugh.)
Remembering that few motorcycle riders wear hearing protection helps keep me from getting too angry when one of them rides through my neighborhood at 2am, rattling my windows and waking me up. I just think, “Dumbass”, smile, and go back to sleep.
I got a ticket for wearing hearing protection on my motorcycle, the officer explained that it prevented me from hearing emergency sirens....
It’s illegal to wear hearing protection while operating a motor vehicle in most states.