That's a good description.
I did put my earplugs in before I used the t-post driver... That thing makes some noise!
I forgot my muffs one time when I "just had one post to drive in." Wow, that ringing clang... and it echoed off the garden shed.
I encourage everyone to wear hearing protection as much as possible. My dad needed hearing aids at my age, but I started wearing hearing protection as a young man and my hearing is still good now in my 60's.
I once saw video of what happens to the little hairs in your ears when you hear a sound. They wave and flutter. Then they played a really loud noise, and they just about blew apart. (Whose ears...? I don't know.) And, they DON'T GROW BACK.
I saw a guy using a chainsaw without hearing protection. I commented on it, and he said, "Nah, I don't need those," as if it were a manly thing. Nope. Not at all.
People are starting to get back to being more practical I think now.
Some did it for a while, during Covid, and now that times are more "normal" again, they're ditching the self-sufficiency. Some saw the last few years as a real wake up call.
Canning stuff doesn't last at Goodwill stores around here. My neighbor goes to a lot of estate sales, though, and she said she can find a fair amount of canning supplies. She doesn't need any of it, but she'll buy it for friends and neighbors who are looking for them.