Originally Posted by MaydayMark

Hey FalconJet ... did you fly with me last month? I had an f/o who, like you, wore foam earplugs the entire flight. I understand the whole "hearing conservation" thing. I'm one of the few guys I know that ALWAYS wears foam earplugs when I'm OUTSIDE the airplane (and like you for noisy home activities). The MD-11 is the quietest airplane I've ever flown, hearing protection is not required.

Here's the problem ... this f/o did NOT hear a single thing I said the first time I said it. His response was inevitably, "Huh?" The second day of the trip, I pointed out to him that he couldn't hear sh*t with his earplugs in (actually, I thought it was my best attempt at CRM and that he would surely remove them, he didn't). IT WAS DANGEROUS and I will not permit it the next time I fly with the guy.