Many people, particularly men, ignore how vulnerable their ears are, particularly in noisy professions. If you work around steady noise, or even areas with intermittent very loud noises, such as using pressurized air, it pays off in the long run to employ ear protection. At gigs i attend I try to remember to bring some plugs of the soft insertable kind, hopefully not brightly colored, but I know no shame when it comes to safeguarding them itty bitty little hairs.