When I first came to Cinci, the company I worked for had me take a hearing test as part of my physical. I was shocked at how bad my hearing really was. Wasn't quite severe, but it was moderate and limited to about 14kc. Now I take care of my hearing by always wearing war protection when exposed to loud noises. Sounds silly, but cleaning with a ear kit really seemed to help. Reminds me of a guy my wife used to work with. He went in for a physical and the doctor checked his ears. Doc reached for some tweasers and pulled out part of an ear plug. Wife's friend was quite shocked; he had not worn earplugs since he went to a concert several years earlier......Colin