Hearing protection is mandated airside because a growing number of those stupid enough not to wear it were starting to make law suits for hearing loss. Who would've thunk you lose hearing around constant loud noises hey...
On a side note it is actually a good analogy for mandating against stupid to protect yourself from their future actions.
By the way most PPE requirements are not that you have to wear hearing protection, it must be carried and used when exposed to high level noise. Sounds perfectly reasonable to the average human being, it's also the OSH requirement for high noise areas in the USA, so it's not just 'nanny state Australia' that requires it.
Last edited by 43Inches; 18th Oct 2021 at 22:10.