Call me odd, but the thought of hearing protection in a home defense situation has never occurred to me. Whether it's the old .45 ACP, 12 ga. pump, AR-15 or whatever I grab. Protecting home and family would always be my priority. I'm 72, been shooting since Spot was a pup and the only hearing loss is high pitch frequencies, due to 4 years working around jet engines in the Navy. Note: I wore hearing protection around jets and always do when shooting.