is it alright with a .22 though
Let's put it this way. I fired scores of thousands of rounds out of a .22LR rifle during my growing-up years. I never wore hearing protection then. I now suffer some hearing loss, particularly for higher frequency sound waves. I cannot say for certain that the years of firing .22LR is responsible for it, but I suspect it was.
That said, I wear hearing protection all the time, now, as well as eye protection. Older and wiser, they say. When you are young, you are less likely to consider these things, or to consider the consequences of repeated actions over time.
Also, when I was a kid, a .22LR case ruptured in an old Remington rolling-block rifle. I still have a black piece of unburned powder (or some other debris) stuck in my eye (it's actually stuck in the cornea, over the iris). I am fortunate to still have two good, functioning eyes. Had I been wearing eye protection, that could have been avoided.
Do as you will, but I strongly recommend hearing and eye protection.