I am wanting to get good hearing protection and would appreciate any comments

I am found of the electronic earmuffs. They let you hear others and they are helpful if you are advising a new shooter and want to make sure they hear all of your commands. Caldwells are sometimes discounted on Midway, there is another brand on clearance right now at a good discount of their page-BA

I like the $1.97 6 pack at Walmart.. but I walk around in the woods with my dog shooting at different things.

I have a pair of electronic Peltor's that I purchased form Home Depot. I use them with plugs when shooting 30-06. They work very well.

Mals

i just use a pair of non electronic over-the-ear muffs which work pretty well when i'm at the indoor range. Shots muffled but i can talk to my wife or the RO without taking them off.
Now if someone next to me is firing off a "canon" then i may pop in some foam ear plugs as well.

I can say i tried just foam plugs once at the indoor range, did not help much (worked better outdoors).

There may be more to it when researching but i believe the higher the NPR rating the better it works at blocking out damaging sound decibels.

Another vote for Peltor!!

__________________
NRA Certified Pistol Inst.

You don't mention whether your main shooting purpose. Will it be indoors, target shooting? I'd recommend double protection. Foam ear plugs and whatever approved ear muffs.

Hunting? I don't have a preference.

Home protection? Myself, I have a suppressor on my chosen "nightstand" gun.

These are just my 2 cents. I'm certainly not an expert, just a consumer. I value what hearing I have left.

Shotgun outdoors gets electronic muffs. Metallic, especially indoors, gets plugs AND muffs

i have peltor, optime 105, H10A, earmuff for several years..very good hearing protection when i am at the indoor range...

__________________
There's nowt so queer as folk

Best money ever spent Howard Leight slim and fold up real small

I use these: Harbor Freight ear muffs They are surprisingly good, and only 12 bucks. I like to double up and also put The orange squishy ones inside my ears as well. It really works well. Never had any ringing in my ears again after I started using that combo at the range. It's enough to reduce the loud booms, but I can still hear if someone calls a cease fire, or speaks to me. They are a little bulky with a rifle, but still manageable.

I tried numerous devices. Regular plugs of all kinds, muffs with and without electronics, I was never satisfied until I got my current molded plugs. The audiologist made a mold of my ear and the plugs are molded to my ears. I asked for the material with the highest attenuation.

I shoot pistol and rifle. Indoors and out. I am complexly satisfied for the first time I can hear voices and obviously gunfire. The sound levels are very comfortable. At the rifle range people next to me shoot all sorts of hi powered rifles. I can feel muzzle blast on my face. The sound levels are very comfortable.

This is the URL


Solid - DefendEar Recreational

......how in the world did you get your dog to shoot at different things while you are walking around in the woods.......LOL.

LMAO!!!!!! That's one heck of a dog!

__________________
Mat - M&P 40c & 40 Shield

I have the foldable electronic Peltors and they work great. I have never felt the need to add foam plugs underneath, but you could do that as well if you need to. I love the electronic part because when I teach classes, I can hear what the students are saying back to me or if they have questions, yet when we are firing on the line, it all gets blocked out without a problem. Best money I have ever spent on hearing protection.

__________________
Mat - M&P 40c & 40 Shield

I have used the Howard Leight Impact Sports electronic ear protectors with foam earplugs. They work well and the price is right. Pro Ears are tops, but the prices on the various models reflect the quality.

Reminds me of a story I just read.

Attached Images

dog.jpg (80.8 KB, 32 views)

__________________
Mike, AmVets Member, Navy Vet

That blast can affect your hearing via the mastoid bones surrounding your ear, which is why I wear muffs. That damage goes to your middle ear area.

That's what I use- you get Super Hearing when you crank up the volume all the way- I don't hunt but I imagine it would make you pretty effective being able to hear so well- almost like cheating.

I use surefire sonic defenders. By far the most comfortable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He's actually a good shot.

But when I was a truck driver he'd go with me but he kept grinding the gears.

Attached Images

033.jpg (126.0 KB, 32 views)

HUH,...WHAT?

But really double up with soft plugs and an electronic set from Peltor or other brand don't miss out on what your grand kids want to tell you.

When I was a kid my uncle gave me a couple of cigarette butts to stick in my ears seriously that was his idea of hearing protection ,yea mom freaked out when she found them in my pocket that was last range trip without dad lol. I generaly wear the plain Caldwell over the ear while shooting and keep a pair in tne house so when my wife gets to griping I say I don't have to listen to this and put em on after a few minutes if pretending I can't hear a word she will just go silent .Boy she hates em lol .

I went many years using standard muffs and plugs. They work fine for protection, but it is like being nearly deaf at the range. I finally wised up and bought electronic muffs. I still double up with plugs, but I can hear just fine. They are especially good when getting or giving instruction, as well as, listening to instructions from a range master at a match, etc.

MSA Sordin
Pricey though.

If you want the best protection, get custom fitted electronic in ear plugs. They're not cheap, but they are the best. I shoot Open and RO Open shooters inside and out, never needed any additional protection (like muffs over the ears with the plugs). If you're talking about muffs, then Pro Ears Gold would be my choice. I used them right up to the point where I got my Sound Gear (the brand I use, but there are others) ear plugs from House of Hearing in Utah. There are cheaper electronic muffs, but you get what you pay for. I have multiple sets of muffs on the shelf, and a couple in the spare tire well of the car collecting dust.

__________________
Minimize the variables

I use Howard Leight L3 passive muffs unless it's hot. In high temps I like foam plugs. The plugs don't make me sweat like the muffs do. Noise level reduction is rated about the same - 32 for the L3s and 33 for the plugs I use. A lot of people don't insert foam plugs correctly. They are only effective if you roll them and insert them deeply into the ear canal to the point that they are difficult to remove. Sometimes I have to use tweezers to get them out.

I have a pair of the cheap Leight Impact Sport electronic muffs. They work, but for some reason I can't get them adjusted properly to my head. They just don't seal well for me. Works for others, though. I keep them handy in case I take some one shooting who doesn't have their own.

__________________
Or something like that . . .

Interesting.

Are you looking for the best hearing protection or the easiest or something that will help hear talking while still blocking out impulse noise?



No, these are good, and I use a pair, but they are not the best hearing protection.

The best hearing protection are the little foam ones. Properly installed, they offer the greatest noise reduction and a perfect fit every time. Improperly installed they're useless. Look at this:


These are better than custom fit because they give you a fresh fit every time. Custom fit plugs are hard and don't shape themselves to your ear canal. So, if you're hot or cold the shape of your ear canal will change. The custom fit plugs don't change with it. The foam ones will.

Oneounceload is correct about sound getting through via the mastoid bone. Alas, the muff isn't complete coverage of that bone and sound still gets through. Further, muffs by themselves are not that great. The arm of your glasses breaks the seal and reduces the ability to stop noise by as much as half.

Obviously, muffs over plugs is the best. But is it really helping?


Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) is a logarithmic scale. A rating of 3dB will reduce the sound by half. Every 3dB increase in reduction rating will cut the remaining noise in half again. So, just for ease of calculation let's start with a sound that has a number of 100 (no actual relation to noise, this is just for math).
If we have a 3dB NRR, that noise becomes 50
6dB NRR and it's now 25
9dB NRR and it's 12.5
12dB NRR puts it down to 6.25
15dB NRR brings it to 3.125
18dB NRR and we have 1.5625
21dB NRR and now it's .78125
And so on and so on...

The point of this little chart is that once you reach a rating of about 15db NRR, there is very little change in noise reduction as you increase the rating.

Hearing damage happens with long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85dB. Short impulse noise, like a gun shot, will damage your hearing at about 120dB. Any hearing protection that brings that noise level down below 80dB will effectively protect your hearing.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

After reading a review of the Decibullz decided to give them a tried and they work great. I love them, had peltor for years even tried the electronic ones but didn't like them.

__________________
M&P 9, Shield9.

Nice chart. I'm old. I flew helicopters and small airplanes for many years. I also shot competitively. I always wore ear plugs, usually under a helmet, headset or muffs. Most of my childhood buddies, shot a lot for fun and hunted. They didn't use earplugs under their muffs. I'm the only one who doesn't either look with a vacant stare or asks, "What? or Huh?" when we meet up. Draw your own conclusions.

x3 on the HL Impact Sports muffs plus they serve as double duty at certain racetracks when i want to listen to internet broadcast and watch racing at the same time - especially the last hour of racing.

with inserts i've tried a few brands and the most comfortable so far are the Howard Leight Laser Lite LL1, they are cheap, decent db reduction and packed in single use 2 pair bags. range, trackside or garage duty, they are easy/quick to use and comfortable.

the SureFire EP4 are very comfortable for the first hour for me without muffs. adding muffs + eyes + hat with the EP4 & extended hours = migraine for the rest of the day/night.

Peltor 300 Tactical

For 3 bucks more I got their electronic noise cancelling version Noise Canceling Electronic Ear Muffs.
They work surprisingly well, and the price can't be beat.

I think there is an error in your math at the line that I have highlighted and bolded.

If -6dB reduces it to 25 then wouldn't -9dB reduce it to 12.5?
And -12dB would reduce it to 6.25 wouldn't it?

If I am correct then by your definition the point at which the reduction is approximately 97% - and further reductions become small enough to be irrelevant - would be at -15dB rather than at -18dB

You are correct. I will go edit the post.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.