The point I was making is - under what regulation is the security nazi - responsible for my hearing protection, and under what regulation can he stop a licensed foreign captain from conducting a walk around on his aircraft without the presentation of ear plugs.
Fingers in ears can help if there happens to be a jet near by taxying. The reality is, that APU's and high bypass engines are a hell off a lot quieter normal non airside environments these days. When I am doing my walk around in Sydney, its is often before the curfew period and there are no jets taxying and the APU on the 380 is so high up it is very quiet. Yet baggage trucks, water trucks, etc are whizzing around at a high rate of knots.