I never addressed ear protection. For down hand welding it's not really an issue as sparks won't reach your ears and with your head in normal upright position your eardrums are out of reach. However, if you are welding on something where you have to wriggle in on your side or something or overhead, ear plugs are a must. Vital. I've had red hot spatter pop past my hood and land in my ear canal. I could hear it sizzle in there. Imagine the damage if it rolls onto your ear drum. As a matter of habit professionally, I always wear ear plugs but for home welding I don't as I can pick and choose how I weld stuff. Small stuff I can turn as needed. For using an angle grinder you should use ear plugs and safety glasses. You can pick up a box of nice safety glasses at Home Depot. The code Z87 is printed on the frame so you know it's safety glasses. ALWAYS wear safety glasses when grinding even if you have your welding hood and are looking through your flip up lens view port. The gold welding lens I mentioned having lost all it's gold had never been used. I had it in reserve. So, it surprised the hell out of me that all the gold vanished over the time it sat in the sun. I can't say how the gold is applied to the plastic since I have no idea. When I have the gold lens in my helmet or in it's plastic sleeve this has never happened. Of note is that the gold coating is just atoms thick. The gold filter lens gives you close to true color red . Cobalt lens gives a blue color while the common green lens makes everything green. I live with a friend at his house since I lost my condo and travel frequently. I don't keep tools I am not using or plan to use, I just don't have space. You can always work with a good friend to set up a garage shop. If it's got a concrete floor that is best.